http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/
enMon, 19 Nov 2018 23:49:00 +0100Fri, 26 Oct 2018 11:46:28 +0200http://content.presspage.com/clients/150_1660.jpghttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/
144Abingdon farming company convicted of endangering livestock http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon-farming-company-convicted-of-endangering-livestock/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon-farming-company-convicted-of-endangering-livestock/An Abingdon based farming company has pleaded guilty to five offences which could have endangered the livestock of other farmers.

David Gow and his farming company A.H. Cornish (Appleton) were found guilty at Oxford Magistrates Court, in a case brought by Oxfordshire County Council Trading Standards.

The trial followed a Trading Standards investigation of David Gow’s Abingdon farm, as a result of intelligence received from the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA).

The charges included one offence under the Animal By-Products Regulations 2013 and four offences under The Cattle Identification Regulations 2007.

David Gow was convicted of ‘Not properly disposing of fallen stock without undue delay’ (this puts the livestock of other farmers at risk) and ‘Failing to appropriately manage the important traceability aspects of livestock management’.

He had failed to correctly identify and keep accurate records of all livestock. These requirements were introduced as a result of national incidents such as foot and mouth disease and BSE ‘mad cow disease’.

Oxfordshire County Council investigating officer Richard Healy said: “Protecting Oxfordshire from animal disease outbreaks protects us all and allows for a thriving rural economy. This case should be noted by those who seek to sidestep the regulations and jeopardise the integrity of the chain from farm to fork.

“Businesses who do not follow the rules can gain an unfair commercial advantage over the vast majority of businesses that trade lawfully.”

]]>News,Frontpage,Carousel,Trading Standards,Livestock,Cattle,Farming,Conviction,David Gow,AbingdonWed, 24 Oct 2018 09:17:00 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_cattle.jpeg?10000Oxfordshire Fireworks 2018http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshire-fireworks-2018/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshire-fireworks-2018/The nights are drawing in and Bonfire Night approaches! There are absolutely stacks of brilliant displays across the length and breadth of the county, plenty to choose from!

Organising a fireworks display? Let us know and we’ll list it here. Keep checking back for more great suggestions for bonfire night!

]]>news,frontpage,fireworks,oxfordshire,oxford,banbury,bicester,kidlington,weston on the green,deddington,hanborough,grove,chinnor,checkendon,woodstock,thame,charlbury,bicester,harwel,abingdon,wallingford,dorchester,faringdon,kingham,thame,henley,witney,didcot,bicester,bodicote,wolvercote,kirtlingtonFri, 19 Oct 2018 16:16:00 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_fireworks-display---geograph.org.uk---1424614.jpg?10000Radley Road in Abingdon repairedhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/radley-road-in-abingdon-repaired/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/radley-road-in-abingdon-repaired/Our road repair team have been out to Radley Road in Abingdon to smooth out some areas of rough tarmac.

With the help of some specialist pieces of equipment and their considerable experience, the crew cut out the failing areas and resurfaced them before sealing the edges ready for traffic to roll again.

A total of £245,000 has been spent carrying out resurfacing, lining and rebuilding a raised crossing by the school.

The team resurfaced from the school to the junctions with Bath Street and Faringdon Road – a distance of around 550m and a total area of 3500m2 .

The photos show the results of the work – a nice new surface without potholes, with fresh new markings and high friction surfacing either side of the refurbished crossing.

]]>news,roads,highways,transport,abingdonWed, 29 Aug 2018 14:28:21 +0100https://content.presspage.com/clients/150_1660.jpg?10000Children mark First World War Armistice as “Oxfordshire Remembers” 100 years onhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/children-mark-first-world-war-armistice-as-oxfordshire-remembers-100-years-on/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/children-mark-first-world-war-armistice-as-oxfordshire-remembers-100-years-on/Children from Oxfordshire have been continuing to mark 100 years since the Armistice which ended the First World War with two special events having taken place at the time of year when poppies are in full bloom.

Around 60 secondary school students from around the county gathered at St Hugh’s College, Oxford University to present to each other their thoughts on their studies throughout the year about the First World War and its implications.

They will be joined by a group of VIP guests including the Lord Lieutenant Tim Stevenson and the Chairman of Oxfordshire County Council, Cllr Gill Sanders.

At a separate event primary school children from all over the county gathered at Dalton Barracks near Abingdon to form a giant human poppy, which was photographed and filmed from the air.

Children were given either red or black ponchos and formed in to the shape of a poppy for the photograph to be taken.

Unique opportunities

County Councillor Lynda Atkins is the County Chairman of the Royal British Legion and has helped to organise the events. She said: “These were unique opportunities for children in Oxfordshire to think about the sacrifice made 100 years ago by people from their own communities at the time of year when poppies are always blooming in England.

“Events are taking place throughout the year as part of “Oxfordshire Remembers” which is part of the Royal British Legion’s Thank You campaign. These will culminate in the Autumn in and around the actual anniversary of the Armistice.”

The campaign is supported by funding from Oxfordshire County Council.

]]>Abingdon,press,frontpage,news,headlines,carousel,militaryTue, 03 Jul 2018 10:26:55 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_poppy5.jpg?10000Thousands of Oxfordshire children learn about online safetyhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/thousands-of-oxfordshire-children-learn-about-online-safety/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/thousands-of-oxfordshire-children-learn-about-online-safety/More than 3,000 children in Oxfordshire are learning valuable lessons from the performance of a special play highlighting what does and doesn’t constitute a healthy online relationships with people.

Pupils aged between 9 and 11 across 60 primary schools are viewing the performance thoughtout June and into early July. The 40-minute play is being staged in Oxfordshire and elsewhere in the Thames Valley thanks to a £51,000 grant provided by the Police and Crime Commissioner Anthony Stansfeld.

What knowledge will children take away?

The Oxfordshire performances are part of the county council’s Anti-bullying strategy and pupils are going away from the play with a better understanding of what constitutes a healthy relationship, pressure to conform with peer groups online and the risks when sharing inappropriate images online including sexual exploitation, cyber-bullying and other online abusive behaviour.

Youngsters are also going away with a better understanding of the impact of online abusive behaviour with a view to developing empathy, coercion and control within online relationships and strategies for managing this and where to go for information and support.

Oxfordshire County Council’s Anti-Bullying Co-ordinator Jo Brown said: “Delivering important knowledge and information to young people via a play is known to be a high quality way of getting messages across.

“We’re grateful for the grant funding that has allowed this play to be staged in Oxfordshire. It’ll be impossible to ever quanitify precisely the return on the investment but if it builds up the resilience of young people to those who may do them harm, it’ll have been worth it."

Crucial area of work

Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, Matthew Barber said: “I am delighted that we were able to support this project which I believe is an important step in helping young people across the Thames Valley understand what is a healthy relationship and the risks that they may face online. This is an crucial area of work and I am pleased that we have been able to put in place this educational play across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.”

More advice

More information and advice can be found on the county council's websiite here and the OXME website for young people in Oxfordshire here

Pictured are children from St Swithuns School in Kennington (above) and Rush Common Primary School in Abingdon (below) watching the performance by AlterEgo drama company.

]]>news,press,headlines,carousel,children,schools,education,AbingdonWed, 27 Jun 2018 07:43:20 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_bullying.jpg?10000Oxfordshire aims to be a national leader in tackling air pollution with ‘zero emission zone’ http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshire-aims-to-be-a-national-leader-in-tackling-air-pollution-with-zero-emission-zone/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshire-aims-to-be-a-national-leader-in-tackling-air-pollution-with-zero-emission-zone/As leaders from England’s most car-polluted cities meet the environment secretary, Michael Gove, today, Oxfordshire councils are pushing ahead with bold proposals to create the world’s first zero-emission zone in Oxford and initiatives to tackle air quality in other congestion hotspots in the county, including Abingdon, Henley and Wallingford.

The county and Oxford city councils are currently looking at ambitious proposals to create a zero emission zone (ZEZ) in the city. This would be a long-term project to enable road users and transport operators to plan for the necessary changes, including the use of zero emission vehicles.

Despite a 37% per cent reduction in levels of toxic nitrogen dioxide across Oxford in the last decade, parts of the city centre are still failing to meet the legal limit on the pollutant.

The proposals also assume the technology and take up of zero emission electrical vehicles will continue to accelerate. The first steps in creating a zero-emission zone in Oxford could be in place as early as 2020.

Public consultation in 2017 showed strong support for the ZEZ but also emphasised the need for the two councils to support businesses, transport operators and the public in making the transition. The ambition is to ensure that Oxfordshire becomes a leader in tackling transport challenges linked to air pollution.

Oxfordshire County Council's Director for Planning and Place Sue Halliwell said:

“Oxford has been identified as a city with a major air quality problem and we are looking at a range of long-term measures to tackle congestion and reduce pollution, including a zero emission zone.

“We are delighted that the environment secretary is making this issue a national priority and believe Oxfordshire has an opportunity to become a national leader in tackling air pollution through bold transport initiatives.”

The ZEZ is part of a strategy to reduce congestion and pollution in Oxford by rolling out segregated cycle routes, bus priority, electric charging points, and other measures.

The city and county councils have agreed in principle to progress the plans to the next stage, following discussions with transport operators and other stakeholders. Detailed proposals are now being developed for further consultation with stakeholders, including residents and local businesses.

There are several air quality hotspots outside Oxford, including Henley, Wallingford, Watlington, Abingdon, Botley and Marcham. Options for tackling air quality in those areas are actively being developed by South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils and the county council. In November 2017, South Oxfordshire District Council adopted a Low Emission Strategy.

]]>Marcham,Oxford,Henley,Wallingford,Botley,Watlington,Abingdon,News,Press,Headlines,Carousel,Highways,AirWed, 20 Jun 2018 07:42:22 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_buses.jpg?10000Abingdon kerbs back on the straight and narrowhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon-kerbs-back-on-the-straight-and-narrow/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon-kerbs-back-on-the-straight-and-narrow/Some slightly unruly kerb stones on Stanford Drive in Abingdon have been put in their place by Oxfordshire County Council workers.

The photos above show how they were and how they are now after this week's visit by our team. Don't worry, the grass will grow back!

]]>news,roads,transport,highways,abingdonFri, 15 Jun 2018 10:20:53 +0100https://content.presspage.com/clients/150_1660.jpg?10000Busy night for council teams as downpours lead to floodinghttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/busy-night-for-council-teams-as-downpours-lead-to-flooding/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/busy-night-for-council-teams-as-downpours-lead-to-flooding/Firefighters, highways teams and emergency planners have been working through the night to deal with incidents of flash flooding following the downpours that hit Oxfordshire yesterday evening.

Highways teams worked to clear surface water from under the Botley Road railway bridge in Oxford whilst Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service attended 68 other weather related incidents, dealing with lightning strikes, downed trees and property flooding.

Meanwhile emergency planners worked hand in hand with district councils to help temporarily rehome people whose individual properties had become flooded.

Teams had been preparing for the need to respond yesterday after the Met Office issued a “yellow” warning for rain (its lowest level of alert) followed by an amber alert for the south-west of the county.

The busy period was between 6pm and midnight when the rain was at its most intense and in the hours following.

Jason Crapper from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue said: “The first part of the county to experience the effects of the weather was western Oxfordshire and we attended incidents of localised surface water flash flooding in Bampton, Carterton, Brize Norton and Woodstock among others. Although the west was the first affected we did also have to attend a lightning strike to an electricity pole in Matthews Way, Wootton near Abingdon quite early.

“Essentially the weather moved from the south west up through the county to the north. We attended a number of incidents in Oxford and highways teams used pumps to clear water that had accumulated underneath the Botley Road railway bridge.

“Elsewhere we had to deal with flooding in Didcot, Kildington, Banbury and Enstone amongst other places as well as lightning strikes in Combe and South Leigh. It was certainly a busy night for all concerned.”

The Met Office is not currently predicting any further significant rainfall as can be seen from its forecast for coming days here

All agencies will now as a matter of course will monitor river levels. Currently there are only flood alerts in Oxfordshire (the lowest level of warning) More information can be found here.

]]>fire and rescue service,frontpage,fire,emergency planning,carousel,news,press,Kidlington,Bampton,Banbury,Enstone,Brize Norton,Combe,South Leigh,Didcot,Abingdon,Carterton,Woodstock,Oxford,floodingFri, 01 Jun 2018 09:44:42 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_floodingjune.jpg?10000Taking care back to its roots in Oxfordshirehttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/taking-care-back-to-its-roots-in-oxfordshire/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/taking-care-back-to-its-roots-in-oxfordshire/Care in Oxfordshire looks set to go back to its community roots with teams of very local people set up around older and vulnerable people in an innovative project originally inspired in Holland and so-far tried in only one other place in England.

Teams are to be set up around people who need care in Abingdon and Wallingford as part of a £100,000 trial to be managed by a specialist Manchester based company called Wellbeing Teams who have already set up the new teams in Wigan.

Only people who live within a five mile radius of those for whom they’ll care will be recruited to the new teams – but they don’t have to have any experience in the care industry - they just need to be able to offer up to 21.75 hours of time per week and have a clear commitment and pride in their local area and community.

Helen Sanderson of Wellbeing Teams has been in discussion with adult social care managers at Oxfordshire County Council for some time and plans have now reached a stage at which they can begin to be implemented with the help of a charity called Community Circles. Helen was originally inspired by a well-known self-management model of care that has been pioneered in Buurtzorg, Holland.

She said: “It’s very exciting to be working in Oxfordshire with what is a new concept based on traditional community values, and a new way of working in self-organising teams. People are committed to their own communities, they know the people, places and resources, they love their towns and villages, they’ve often known their neighbours for years and they care about their welfare already.

“If teams are set up locally that means far less time spent on the road and more time spent caring. We’ve already seeing positive results in Wigan with small close-knit teams working around individuals who need care, and teams who organise themselves with the support of a coach instead of traditional managers.

“In terms of recruiting the people we need, what matters is people’s heart being in their community they’re likely to have the right attitudes and values. If they have the right values and motivations we can train them in the skills they need.’

“We don’t deal in CVs and traditional interviews, we invite interested people to a three hour workshop and ask them for a one page profile with the overall aim being to see if their values suit and our suit theirs. We have won an award for our values based recruitment and we are excited to bring this to Oxfordshire. Eighty percent of our current teams have come from outside of the care sector.”

“Individual teams can be up to 12 people strong and they work on outcomes that are identified from the outset by the person receiving the care.”

People recruited to teams would be supported by Wellbeing Teams through a buddying system and the usual DBS and safety checks would be required before recruitment could take place.

Independent living

Kate Terroni, the Director for Adult Social Care at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “The CQC have acknowledged is a brand new model of care.

“As ever, our prime motive in getting involved with is to provide quality care and help people live independently at home – but this is a very different way of achieving that aim.

“It has the potential to unlock untapped potential for the home care market by reaching out to people who’d not normally consider working in the care industry and at the same time creating a much more varied workforce. Workforce recruitment issues in the care industry have been well documented in our county. This is both exciting and innovative and I look forward to teams taking shape in Abingdon and Wallingford.”

Community roots

Councillor Lawrie Stratford, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care added: “This really is bringing care right back to its community roots. If we look back several decades, care would have been provided informally and locally. Wellbeing teams are based on that old, traditional model and I’m incredibly interested to see how things take shape in Abingdon and Wallingford. We’re certainly interested in expanding the model out in to other parts of Oxfordshire in future times.

Learn more

If you are interested in joining the first Wellbeing Team starting in Abingdon, please go to wellbeingteams.org and have a look at the careers page.

]]>adult social care,Wallingford,Abingdon,news,press,headlines,carouselWed, 23 May 2018 10:13:49 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_wellbeingteams2.jpg?10000Here come the Jets! Young stage talents serve up taste of Broadwayhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/here-come-the-jets-young-stage-talents-serve-up-taste-of-broadway/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/here-come-the-jets-young-stage-talents-serve-up-taste-of-broadway/Talented young performers from across the county are preparing to tread the boards in a sparkling production of classic musical West Side Story.

Singers, dancers and actors from Oxfordshire Youth Music Theatre (OYMT) are putting the finishing touches to their annual production, which will light up the stage this week.

Previous shows such as Hot Mikado, Crazy for You and The Sound of Music have gone down a storm with audiences, with many of the theatre group’s alumni going on to careers in the performing industry.

Tickets are still available for four evening shows from Wednesday, 18 April to Saturday, 21 April (7.30pm) at the Centre for Music on Bayswater Road. There will also be a matinee performance on the show’s last day at 2.30pm.

Nicola Trinder and James Gant are playing the lead roles of Maria and Tony in West Side Story

High reputation

Head of Oxfordshire County Music Service Angela Turton said: “The high reputation of the Oxfordshire Youth Music Theatre goes before it and the standard is incredibly good. Our young performers always pull out all the stops and put on a memorable show. I would urge everyone to come along to watch – you will not be disappointed.”

The OYMT is made up of students aged between 14 and 19, accompanied by a band made up of school-aged instrumentalists taken from Music Service ensembles.

Ex-students include Ed Campbell Bird, Joseph Prowen and Tom Wolstenholme who have all been involved in West End shows, in plays and on TV.

West Side Story is directed by Gary Lewin with musical direction by Debbie Rose.

]]>press,news,headlines,carousel,featured,music service,Witney,Kidlington,Oxford,Woodcote,Woodstock,Abingdon,Didcot,children,schools,young people,education,leisure and cultureTue, 10 Apr 2018 09:37:32 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_westsidestory.png?10000Long-term future for Abingdon’s Guildhall as a ‘community hub’http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/long-term-future-for-abingdons-guildhall-as-a-community-hub/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/long-term-future-for-abingdons-guildhall-as-a-community-hub/The long-term future of the Guildhall in Abingdon could be secured as part of an agreement by Oxfordshire County Council and Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council to develop a ‘community hub’ in the building and the surrounding area.

Oxfordshire County Council already runs services in Abingdon, including the library and a children and families centre. As part of the agreement to work together, the county council will be looking at the best way to provide services in its existing public buildings.

“I want to see the Guildhall once again become a valued and loved community asset for Abingdon. There is an opportunity to create a vibrant community hub around the Guildhall, which joins up public services and community uses in this part of the town.

“We will be looking at all the options with the town council and we would welcome ideas from people locally. We would expect the town council as owners of the Guildhall to consult fully with residents before any final decision was taken.”

Following the two councils’ decision to work together, the next step is to set up a joint working group to look at options. The working group will want to talk to all public service providers in Abingdon to look for ways to join up services and make the most of publicly owned buildings in the area.

The working group will also want to talk to voluntary organisations in the area and look at ways to increase community use of buildings.

Cllr Mike Badcock, Leader of Abingdon Town Council, said:

“We welcome the opportunity to work with the county council to secure the long-term future of the Guildhall and provide better community services for the people of Abingdon. The town council has looked at all the options but we believe that we can only find a financially sustainable solution by working with other public service organisations.”

The partnership between Oxfordshire County Council and Abingdon Town Council is part of the county council’s new property strategy to find ways to join up public services and make the best use of buildings in public ownership.

There are 32 female operational firefighters in Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service. They are mums, shopkeepers, marathon runners - regular people doing extraordinary things.

It is not just about fires and fitness, it’s emergency planning, educating on safety and prevention and safeguarding people in our communities.

For the frontline staff, it’s about fast thinking, putting equipment together, collaborating with other blue light services, being resilient.

The service does a lot more than putting out fires: The clue is in “rescue”, with the Service dealing with a variety of situations like flooding, responding to road, rail and air traffic accidents, dealing with chemical hazards and spills, looking after the vulnerable.

“You don’t have to be the incredible Hulk or Lara Croft, I am neither”, said Rebecca Rimmer. She joined the fire service when she was 21 and never looked back “I would be out with a friend who was a firefighter and she used to be called to incidents and I always wondered about those emergencies, as it all sounded exciting and rewarding.” Rebecca has been with the fire service for 19 years and has two children who are very proud to have a “firefighter mummy”.

“I like helping people and care for people. I joined a station that already had female fire-fighters, but even so, I had never thought about the service being male-dominated. It’s like a second family to me, the friendship and support you receive from colleagues is amazing”. “I am lucky to have a supportive family and great colleagues that I can talk to” said Rebecca.

The main qualities that the fire service is looking for is “determination, enthusiasm, and an open mind. You need to have a positive, nothing can phase me attitude”, she stated.

Shelley Wright is 23 and has been with the fire service for 18 months: “I didn’t know which career path to take and couldn’t see myself in an office job and then I saw a banner for fire service recruitment. It was never mentioned at school as something we could do. When I joined the Wantage fire station there hadn’t been a woman there for five years. When the Chief talked to me recently about being the only woman there and I had forgotten about that - I am just part of the team”.

It’s not all plain sailing. “you do get a bit nervous when you first get alerted, but then the training kicks in” said Shelley. “The main gear weights 25 kilos and that’s without other equipment. However you get all the training you need and one of the advantages that I have in being smaller is that I fit into windows and other places that we need to access”.

Looking at barriers and opening fires station doors

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is actively inviting applications from women as part of their wider recruitment campaign. Being a firefighter is a role that women generally don’t consider and there is now a strong focus on tackling the issue and challenging the reasons why women are not applying for the roles available. It all started in April after Simon Furlong became Chief Fire Officer. He explained “We want to inspire more women to join us so we reflect the communities we serve. Our change in approach, the open days and positive action days are already raising the interest from dozens of women wanting to and embrace community safety and firefighting as a career choice. Women can bring a different dimension to the job, the competences are the same but individuals may have a different experience, that’s why we value diversity”,

A 50/50 target is not easy to achieve when you are starting at around 6% of female firefighters in Oxfordshire (which is just above the national average of 5%). In fact, firefighting is one of the most sex-segregated jobs in the UK.

“It’s an ambitious initiative that involves looking at the barriers for recruitment. The first contact a potential recruit has with the fire service is really important and women may feel intimidated at the idea of knocking on the door of a fire station, so we have opened more ways for them to contact us, via social media, taster days etc. We have also arranged for potential recruits to meet with other female fire-fighters for an initial discussion”. Said Clare Sellman, Employee Resourcing and Development Manager. “Our first taster day was held in September and this was for ladies only, the day involved learning about the role in general, meeting role models, trying out the physical tests that form part of the selection day and providing any support and encouragement as required”, Clare Sellman added.

Fireman Sam and firefighter Penny

Rebecca Rimmer is helping in the campaign to recruit more women firefighters. “Some of the fitness aspects of the role can worry our potential female recruits”.. Upper body strength is crucial, many people may be fit, even run marathons, but not have developed that physical side that will allow them to lift ladders, carry weight, drag casualties and other tasks we are required to do”, she said. One way to overcome this being to help people who want to prepare for the assessments or perhaps have failed to reach the standard by a small margin by giving them a fitness programme that they can follow.

This programme has been developed by a firefighter who is also a personal trainer. In addition there are videos online showing the tests here .

“There is the perception that you have to be very young and fit. There is a required standard to ensure safety, however many female firefighters are mums, they come from all backgrounds and a range of ages,” Rebecca said. Parents for instance can become firefighters during the day, while kids are at school, as the day shifts can be amongst the times most difficult to cover.

Leadership support and backing from colleagues is also a key part of integrating women into the fire service. “Kids watch fireman Sam, don’t they? So, the stereotype is there, although there is also the character Penny Morris in the Pontypandy fire brigade. We try to create an environment that is professional and welcoming to everyone, women included. We challenge prejudices, an example being the language that is used: We are not firemen, we are firefighters”, said Steven Anderson, Abingdon Station Manager.

Taster Days for women and recruitment will continue in 2018. Interested, but not sure if it’s for you? Why not attend one of our taster days or have a chat with one of our female firefighters, email: fire.recruitment@oxfordshire.gov.uk to register your interest and we will let you know when the next taster day is running.

We are recruiting whole-time firefighters in January 2018, applications will open on the 8th January and you can find out more about the role and application process here

]]>press,news,Oxfordshire,Wantage,Abingdon,fire and rescue service,recruitment,women,frontpage,Community Safety,feature,featuredFri, 08 Dec 2017 16:36:51 +0000https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_rebeccaandshelley1.jpg?10000What’s Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander!http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/whats-good-for-the-goose-is-good-for-the-gander/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/whats-good-for-the-goose-is-good-for-the-gander/Goosey Wick pioneers new co-funding scheme to expand high-speed broadband to more Oxfordshire communities

Goosey Wick villagers will be the first to harvest the benefits of a new £600,000 Oxfordshire faster broadband fund, led by Oxfordshire County Council and Openreach, as part of the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme.

Eleven farms and households in tiny Goosey Wick, near Charney Bassett, will get ultrafast Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) broadband after becoming the first to sign up for the new Better Broadband for Oxfordshire co-funding initiative. FTTP is capable of download speeds of up to one Gigabit per second (Gbps) – about 1,000 times faster than the village’s current speeds.

The partnership allocated £600,000 in total from efficiency savings elsewhere in the Better Broadband for Oxfordshire roll-out to co-fund projects like the one in Goosey Wick.

Under the scheme, the county council will contribute up to £1,700 per premise*, with Openreach – the business responsible for Britain’s largest telephone and broadband network – carrying out the upgrade work. The co-funding programme aims to bring high-speed broadband to more of the county’s smallest, remote communities not yet earmarked for any public or private sector roll-outs, by sharing the infrastructure and installation costs, which would otherwise be too expensive.

Goosey Wick residents have kept the costs down even more by offering to use their own equipment to do some of the digging. The project at Goosey Wick is a major engineering challenge involving the installation of around 13 kilometres of fibre optic cabling by engineers from Openreach. The arrival of ultrafast broadband in around 12 months’ time will be a welcome boost for local farmers who are diversifying into new fields, including letting out cottages, and other residents wanting the option of working from home.

Local resident Philip Campbell, who co-ordinated the community’s application, said: “We’re so pleased Oxfordshire County Council highlighted the availability of the grant scheme and that Openreach are going to be doing the engineering work to connect us. I would certainly encourage other communities in a similar situation to look into the scheme.”

His wife, Jill, added: “The new fibre service will make such a difference to the lives of the people of all ages who live and work here, including younger members of the community who rely on the internet for so much of their studies and homework these days.”

Oxfordshire County Councillor David Bartholomew, Cabinet member for Finance (Broadband and Communications), said: “We’re on track for superfast broadband to reach 96 per cent of Oxfordshire premises by the end of 2018, but rolling out high-speed broadband to the final four per cent is challenging and needs new and innovative solutions.

“Our co-funding scheme is just one of the ways we’re working hard to enable more communities to access this vital technology, and contributing to our ambition to make Oxfordshire one of the best-served counties in the UK for digital infrastructure.

“We want to hear from any other communities who might be interested in taking part in our co-funding scheme.”

Steve Haines, Openreach’s managing director of next generation access, said: “We know how vital fast internet is to communities. Bringing new technology to tiny, remote communities like Goosey Wick can be challenging and expensive, which is why co-funding initiatives like this one are becoming increasingly popular.

“Whether it’s streaming TV in the home, doing homework online, or downloading large files in the office – superfast broadband makes doing anything online faster. With a choice of many broadband providers and the variety of services and prices they offer, the Openreach network provides real choice.”

*Subject to terms and conditions outlined on the Better Broadband for Oxfordshire website.

Issued by Oxfordshire County Council and BT on behalf of the Better Broadband for Oxfordshire partnership.

About Better Broadband for Oxfordshire

Better Broadband for Oxfordshire is a partnership between Oxfordshire County Council, BT and BDUK.

The first phase of the programme was comprised of £25 million of funding: £10m from Oxfordshire County Council, £4m from the Government (Broadband Delivery UK) and £11m from BT. Engineering work on this phase began in August 2013 with the first homes and businesses going live in December 2013.

Further funding of £5.1 million to roll out fibre broadband was announced in February 2015 and construction work began last year. Funding was made up of £1 million from South Oxfordshire District Council, £500,000 from Cherwell District Council, £250,000 from the Vale of the White Horse District Council, £200,000 from Oxfordshire County Council, £1.2m from BT, and a further £1.95m from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Superfast Extension Programme (SEP).

Additional funding of £5.58 million was announced in November 2015. This will increase the percentage of county homes and businesses able to get superfast fibre broadband to more than 95 per cent when combined with earlier phases of the Better Broadband for Oxfordshire programme and the private sector’s commercial roll-out of the technology. This funding comprises: £2 million from the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP); £120,000 from the South East Midlands LEP and Cherwell District Council; £168,000 from Oxford City Council; £2.2 million from the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) programme and £1.1 million from BT. When combined the additional funding adds a further 12,000 premises to the programme.

Better Broadband for Oxfordshire has now completed its planned work in West Oxfordshire. Further roll-out is being carried out here by Cotswold Broadband, which is separate from Better Broadband for Oxfordshire.

About Superfast Britain

Superfast Britain is a Government programme of investment in broadband and communication infrastructure across the UK. Run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, this investment helps businesses to grow, creates jobs and will make Britain more competitive in the global race. The portfolio is comprised of three elements:

Openreach is Britain’s digital network business. That means we connect homes, mobile phone masts, schools, shops, banks, hospitals, libraries, broadcasters, governments and businesses – large and small – to the world. It’s our mission to build the best possible network with the highest quality service, and make sure that everyone in Britain can be connected.

Our 30,400 people work on behalf of more than 580 communications providers like Sky, Talk Talk, Vodafone, Plusnet, EE and BT. Our fibre broadband network is the biggest in the UK, covering more than 26.8 million premises. And our technology is the basis of Britain’s thriving digital economy, which is the largest in the G20 as a proportion of GDP.

We’re working hard to give people the broadband speeds they need at work and at home. Over the last decade, we’ve invested more than £11bn into our network. And we now manage more than 158 million kilometres of cable stretching from Scotland to Cornwall, and from Wales to the east coast. But we’re not stopping there – we’re making superfast broadband speeds available to thousands more homes and businesses every week.

We’re an independently governed business within the BT Group. Our business is highly regulated, and more than 90 per cent of our revenue comes from services that are regulated by Ofcom. Any company can access our products under the same prices, terms and conditions.

BT’s purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better world. It is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed-mobile products and services. BT consists of six customer-facing lines of business: Consumer, EE, Business and Public Sector, Global Services, Wholesale and Ventures, and Openreach.

For the year ended 31 March 2017, BT Group’s reported revenue was £24,062m with reported profit before taxation of £2,354m.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

A highlight that’s not to be missed, Oxford’s festive season has a dazzling start with the annual Christmas Light Festival weekend, one of the most exciting events held in the city centre. There are lots of fun events for everyone, as well as a festive market and food stalls.

28 November, 6-9pm, Free (Adults only)Your chance to make a lantern to be used in Faringdon’s Live Nativity with artist Emily Cooling. Adults only 20 places on a first come first served basis. Your Lantern will be used as part of the performance but will be available for collection after the event. All materials provided

On Friday 1 December 2017, Thame will host its annual community Christmas event which typically attracts thousands of local residents and families all looking to spoil themselves or their loved ones with good food and great gifts, not to mention the lantern parade and fantastic selection of entertainment and attractions on offer, including the return of our popular Santa’s Grotto and Go-Karts! We will also be hosting a human-sized snow globe, for you and your family to take photos in and play in the snow!

The Christmas market in the Wheat barn and Barley Barn will have over 60 stalls from local businesses, crafters and makers offering hand-made gifts, rural crafts, festive decor, and local produce, cakes, pies, speciality local beers and ciders, gift bags and hampers.

The biggest and most magical Christmas market in West Oxfordshire, with over 50 stalls selling hand-made, ethically sourced or local crafts and gifts, locally produced and organic food items. The entire market is under cover and there will be musical entertainment throughout the afternoon. Santa Claus for the children, hot mulled wine and a bar for the grown-ups, cakes, teas - come and enjoy.

As well as the Christmas Festival in the Town Centre there’s also the Wallingford Santa Dash at Wallingford School, Join hundreds of Santas and run, walk or sleigh ride your way on this 3km run from Wallingford School to the Market Place.

This Christmas, for one night only, the centre of Faringdon will be transformed into Bethlehem! Faringdon Town Council has partnered with Faringdon Dramatic Society, Faringdon All Saints’, Faringdon Baptist Church and many other local organisations and community members in order to create a spectacular nativity for everyone to come and see. The Faringdon Town Nativity will take place on Friday 8th December, in the market square at 6pm and will include live acting, live singing, spectacular lightning and sound, beautiful lanterns, a donkey and three real camels!

There will be lots of fun things to do in the Library this afternoon between 2.30pm and 4.00pm. Festive makes, wordsearches, songs and stories. Suggested age 4-9 years, although younger or older siblings are more than welcome if they want to come along.

What have we missed?

There are so many brilliant events across the county that no doubt a few have fallen off our list! If you know of an event that’s somehow slipped us by, let us know the details in the comments below!

Not long to go before Christmas Markets start to appear across the county, and festive lights brighten up the night. We've scoured the interwebs for details of events across Oxfordshire to look forward to!

]]>remembrance,roads,transport,community,poppy,thame,witney,didcot,abingdon,chipping norton,burford,carterton,faringdon,marcham,kennington,goring,woodstock,wantage,wallingford,benson,chinnor,henley,charlbury,didcot,harwell,grove,godstow,oxford,frontpageWed, 08 Nov 2017 09:14:10 +0000https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_shutterstock-143922229remembrance17.jpg?10000Stalwart foster carers chalk up 40 years of servicehttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/stalwart-foster-carers-chalk-up-40-years-of-service/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/stalwart-foster-carers-chalk-up-40-years-of-service/“Maybe we are getting a bit old, but we just do the best job we can and believe that we can make a difference”

This is the simple verdict of one of Oxfordshire’s longest serving fostering couples after clocking up 40 years caring for hundreds of the county’s most vulnerable children.

Abingdon residents Rosalie and Rod James, both 77, have been celebrating their landmark achievement with family, friends and former foster children.

Such has been the couple’s contribution to the service that – not unreasonably – they have lost count of the number of children they have cared for over the decades, though it is comfortably in the hundreds. They are still going strong in the role with three children currently in their care.

Long history of care

“Last year we had 17 children, and of course, some only stay for a very short time”, explains Rosalie. “The youngest child we had was five days old and the oldest was almost 18, so we’ve looked after all ages, often three children at a time.

“To begin with, we looked after a number of children in the family at different times and for different reasons, and thought we might as well do it properly and signed up with the council as foster carers. It’s just carried on from there.”

Rod, a retired gardener, adds: “Children are often lacking confidence when they first come to you, so it’s really rewarding when they become more comfortable and you find out that they’re really smart and have a lot more about them than you could have imagined.”

The couple held a recent celebratory bash at Abingdon’s Northcourt Centre, surrounded by family, friends and council colleagues (don’t ask them how many people came along, because it might have exceeded the fire regulations!). Most touching of all, though, was the presence of several ex-foster children who have kept in touch with their former carers well into their adult lives.

“Rosalie and Rod are an absolute credit to this county and theirs is a truly magnificent achievement”, says Steve Harrod, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services. “There can’t be many people in Oxfordshire or anywhere else who know more about looking after children, or meeting the needs of young people in care who have often lived through traumatic experiences.”

Years of knowledge

The couple’s longevity as foster carers has certainly given them a rare perspective, and through Rosalie’s involvement as a foster carer co-ordinator they’ve also been able to pass on their knowledge and skills to countless other carers, offering valuable support to new colleagues coming into the role for the first time.

Fostering Service Manager Teresa Rogers says: “Rosalie and Rod are so well known and well-liked by everyone who has had the pleasure to work with them over the years, they have almost become celebrities within the service. When they eventually decide to call it a day – I hope not just yet – it will leave a big hole, but their legacy will be huge, both in terms of their contribution to the role of fostering itself and the immeasurable difference they have made to so many young lives.”

Key qualities

So what does Rosalie think the most important qualities are for a foster carer?

“You certainly need a lot of patience and a sense of humour. And I think you need to be happy in yourself and believe in yourself, and you need to be an advocate for the child, to say what you think they need or what is best for them. It’s important to realise that all children are different and I have always liked the challenge of working out the best way of working with them and getting on with them.”

Hopefully Rosalie and Rod will be continuing to enjoy that challenge for at least a little while longer.

]]>press,news,frontpage,featured,Abingdon,foster care,children,Children education and families,families,young people,parents,children's social careTue, 24 Oct 2017 08:41:37 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_rosalieandrod1.jpg?10000New ANPR cameras launched to protect historic bridge on the Thameshttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/new-anpr-cameras-launched-to-protect-historic-bridge-on-the-thames/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/new-anpr-cameras-launched-to-protect-historic-bridge-on-the-thames/Oxfordshire County Council is investing in new high tech cameras to protect Newbridge, a listed Medieval structure on the A415.

It’s the first time that Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras are being used to enforce a road weight restriction in the county. The cameras use optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration.

No vehicles of any kind which have a “Maximum Gross Weight” of more than 18 tonnes are permitted to cross it. Over time, infractions have led to damage to this fragile structure that wasn’t designed to carry modern traffic, although weight restrictions have been in place since 2006.

Councillor Judith Heathcoat, deputy leader of Oxfordshire County Council said: “The County Councilis committed to protecting this irreplaceable historic bridge and this technology allows us to do just that. We are responding to concerns from the local community and are alerting drivers of heavy vehicles so they can find other routes.”

Helping drivers of heavy vehicles plan alternative routes

Oxfordshire County Council has also added new road signs in the area to alert drivers to the weight restriction and enforcement activity. Trading Standards officers are proactively monitoring the bridge and enforcing the weight limit. Overweight vehicles” using the bridge can be fined up to £1000.

Drivers of heavy vehicles can find help at the Freight Gateway – an internet tool which will help with route planning. You can access the Freight Gateway and other information on Oxfordshire County Council weight restriction enforcement at:

Elsewhere in the County, we are working with neighbourhood groups, investigating public reports and carrying out proactive checks to protect Oxfordshire's roads and bridges and safeguard local communities from misuse of roads by heavy vehicles.

Protecting the county’s historic heritage

The use of the cameras will help to protect the bridge and extend its useful life – minimising the need for expensive repairs, which like maintenance are paid by council tax and businesses rates.

Newbridge is a 13th century bridge, one of two oldest surviving bridges across the Thames. It was built by Benedictine monks from Deerhurst Prior on the orders of King John to improve access between the wool towns in the south of England, and the Cotswold farms. During the Civil War, the bridge was the scene of a battle when Parliamentarian William Waller attempted to cross it to surround Oxford and capture King Charles, but was defeated.

]]>frontpage,news,Oxfordshire,highways,culture,weak bridges,transport,Witney,Abingdon,roads,roads and transport,Kingston Bagpuize,CumnorThu, 19 Oct 2017 07:00:00 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_03-10-17-weakbridgesignnorthbank1.jpg?10000A week of recycling advice across southern Oxfordshirehttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/a-week-of-recycling-advice-across-southern-oxfordshire/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/a-week-of-recycling-advice-across-southern-oxfordshire/Ever wondered what to do with McDonalds paper cups that can’t be recycled? That was one of the tips given to people in southern Oxfordshire as part of National Recycle Week by council officers who toured the area.

Oxfordshire County Council, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse staff have been attending events every day to promote recycling, reducing and re-using and generally answering queries from residents.

At Charlton Park Garden Centre in Wantage Jude Owen a Master Composter gave useful advice on how to make good compost and some very particular advice on how to re-use McDonalds paper cups in the garden as, sadly, they cannot be recycled.

On another day, Linda Brawn, a LFHW (Love Food Hate Waste) champion, joined officers Asda Wheatley. Linda was encouraging residents to produce less food waste and a top tip from the day was using the tops of leeks and potato peelings to make leek and potato soup.

Venues attended are listed below

Charlton Park Garden Centre, Wantage

Waitrose in Faringdon

Tesco in Henley

Asda in Wheatley

Waitrose in Wallingford

Market Place, Abingdon (Abingdon Local excellence market)

]]>Wantage,Faringdon,Henley,Wheatley,Wallingford,Abingdon,waste and recycling,news,press,headlinesTue, 03 Oct 2017 10:28:33 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_recycleforoxfordshire.jpg?10000New era for daytime support in Oxfordshirehttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/new-era-for-daytime-support-in-oxfordshire/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/new-era-for-daytime-support-in-oxfordshire/A new system of delivering daytime support services in Oxfordshire is all set to come in to operation on October 1 with the council aiming to ensure that core services are secure for the future. Eight new centres will provide support for more than 500 older people or people with a learning disability who have been assessed as having an eligible need and some other people who do not have an assessed need.

The changes follow a consultation with service users and their families in late 2016 in which they were given the opportunity to have a wide-ranging input in to how the new service should take shape.

Within the council’s new £4.5m service there are 1,600 days of support per week (3,200 sessions) being provided across the eight locations.

Each of the eight centres will have its own fleet of family-size vehicles, some of which will be adapted. These will be used to transport people to and from the centres and will be driven by staff from the Community Support Service. The council has set up a special hub to ensure a smooth transition during the early days of the new system.

There will be a number of options for meals, including: staff supporting people to eat out at a local café, cooking as part of a small group, paying towards a group meal prepared by others, a simple hot meal prepared by staff, and people bringing in their own pre-prepared meal or light lunch if they wish to.

Oxfordshire County Council has been working with each person currently using council services to support them through the change. This has been achieved through council staff working in partnership with Age UK Oxfordshire’s Community Information Network.

Support is being personalised, meaning that staff have been working with people to plan their support to meet their individual needs.

Age UK Oxfordshire’s Community Information Network have worked with people who had been accessing directly-run county council day centres and who weren’t known to adult social care to help them find alternative solutions in Oxfordshire’s thriving voluntary and community sector.

Director for Adult Social Care Kate Terroni said: “As demand for social care grows and government funding reduces, we are making sure that our core service is secure for the future. We’ve been working hard on this change during 2017 and we’re looking forward to the new service bedding in.

“We always said that people with eligible needs would be offered a place at the eight new council run centres and that is exactly what we have delivered. Indeed the 508 people assessed as having eligible needs in the new system is higher than the 471 attending the previous network of 22 daytime support facilities.

“Oxfordshire’s voluntary sector daytime support network is strong and well respected. There are around 200 facilities and we have been working with Age UK’s Community Information Network to ensure that people who attended our 22 centres without having an eligible need have been offered alternative arrangements.”

Penny Thewlis, Chief Executive of Age UK Oxfordshire, said: “This has been a big change for some people, many of whom have been anxious and unsettled by it. We’ve worked very closely with the county council over recent months and with people affected by the change to ensure that nobody is left without daytime support options. We will continue to do so over the coming months until everyone is happily settled. Now we need to give the new system time to take shape and bed in.”

Where are the eight centres?

Audlett Drive, Abingdon

Neithrop Avenue, Banbury

Launton Road, Bicester

Britwell Road, Didcot

Agward Stone Road, Horspath Driftway, Oxford

High Street, Wallingford

Charlton Village Road, Wantage

Moorland Road, Witney

]]>Abingdon,Banbury,Bicester,Didcot,Oxford,Wallingford,Wantage,Witney,press,news,headlines,adult social careThu, 28 Sep 2017 14:58:21 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_shutterstock-41074129-2.jpg?10000Abingdon smokers urged to join ‘Stoptober’ and save up to £250http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon-smokers-urged-to-join-stoptober-and-save-up-to-250/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon-smokers-urged-to-join-stoptober-and-save-up-to-250/Oxfordshire County Council’s public health team is challenging smokers in the Abingdon area to save up to £250 this ‘Stoptober’ by quitting.

Research shows that when smokers give up for 28 days they are up to five times more likely to stay smoke-free for good. Successful attempts are also four times more likely with the help of a stop smoking service. Not only are the immediate health benefits huge, but quitting can also put some serious cash back in your wallet – up to £250 a month.

A special Stoptober-themed clinic is coming to Abingdon market on Wednesday 27 September, to highlight the benefits of going smoke free. The event from 10am to 3pm is being staged by Smokefreelife Oxfordshire - the county’s stop smoking service commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council.

Anyone thinking about taking the Stoptober challenge should drop by for a chat with a friendly and supportive advisor who can give guidance on quitting aids and make referrals for ongoing support from a stop smoking advisor. The family-friendly event will also feature face-painting for children.

Those preferring to quit on their own can visit the Stoptober website for help and advice – including social media support.

Health impact

Cabinet Member for Public Health, Cllr Hilary Hibbert-Biles, said: “Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the UK and contributes to around 100,000 deaths each year. While smoking rates have fallen steadily in Oxfordshire and are below the national average, one in eight people are still lighting up in the county – which amounts to a lot of smokers.

“We’re supporting Stoptober because it’s vital we encourage Oxfordshire residents to make healthy choices. Quite simply, stopping smoking is the single biggest thing you can do to improve your life expectancy.”

Leena Sankla, Director of Public Health & Lifestyle Services, Solutions 4 Health Ltd who provide Smokefreelife Oxfordshire, encourages people to stop by and get involved: “We are passionate about giving smokers the best possible chance to quit and hope that lots of people come and find out what we can offer by talking to the staff at our event. There will be lots going on and I’d encourage everyone, smoker or not, to come and enjoy the entertainment and learn about the support available through Smokefreelife Oxfordshire.”

Further Stoptober events

Smokefreelife Oxfordshire will also be at Templars Square Shopping Centre, Cowley on 6 October and outside Castle Quay Shopping Centre, Banbury on 9 October. All events run between 10am – 3pm.

]]>press,news,public health,AbingdonFri, 22 Sep 2017 14:48:04 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_one-you-stoptober-mpu-300x250-generic.jpg?10000Record levels for numbers of “outstanding” rated care settings in Oxfordshirehttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/record-levels-for-numbers-of-outstanding-rated-care-homes-in-oxfordshire/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/record-levels-for-numbers-of-outstanding-rated-care-homes-in-oxfordshire/The number of care settings in Oxfordshire rated as “outstanding” by national inspectors has hit record levels in recent months with four new top ratings awarded in the last month alone.The latest ratings published by the Care Quality Commission this week show that Oxfordshire has 15 care homes, homecare agencies, supported living providers, Doctors/GPs or independent healthcare organisations are now rated as outstanding.

The four to have been rated as “outstanding” during the last month are – The Brandon Trust, Oxford; Godswell Park, Banbury; Rush Court, Wallingford and Rosebank Care Home, Bampton.

A total of five per cent of all providers in Oxfordshire are outstanding compared to three per cent nationally and 89% are good or outstanding compared to 83% nationally.

The CQC awards four ratings following inspections –

Outstanding

Good

Requires Improvement

Inadequate

The full list of Oxfordshire “outstanding” ratings is below.

Name

Town/City

Service types

Vale House

Oxford

Care Home

Rush Court

Wallingford

Care Home

Rosebank Care Home

Bampton

Care Home

The Grange Care Centre

Faringdon

Care Home

Godswell Park

Bloxham

Care Home

Cleeve Lodge

Goring on Thames

Care Home

George Springall Homecare Partnership

Oxford

Homecare agency

Caretree Limited

Abingdon

Homecare agency

My Carer

Faringdon

Homecare agency

Brandon Trust Supported Living - Oxfordshire

Oxford Business Park

Supported living provider

Windrush Medical Practice, Windrush Health Centre

Witney

Doctors/GP

Mill Stream Surgery

Wallingford

Doctors/GP

Dr K M Emerson & Partners

Sonning Common

Doctors/GP

Luther Street (Oxford Health)

Oxford

Doctors/GPs ,Diagnosis/screening,

Sue Ryder - Nettlebed Hospice

Henley On Thames

Independent Healthcare Organisation

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Councillor Lawrie Stratford, said: “The trend is unmistakeable. Oxfordshire is well ahead of the national average and that position is improving month by month.

“Our congratulations go to the organisations recently rated outstanding. The CQC does not make this award lightly – as can be seen by the fact that only three per cent of organisations nationally have such a status.

“The county council doesn’t run care homes directly but it has a monitoring and safeguarding role to help care homes reach their potential along with the CQC.

“As a council our over-arching aim is to enable older and disabled people to live independently and care for those in greatest need, working in partnership with private and voluntary sector providers. These new statistics show that the county is being well served compared to other areas. We hope to see more improvement in coming months.”

]]>Oxford,Wallingford,Bampton,Faringdon,Bloxham,Goring,Abingdon,Witney,Sonning Common,henley,adult social care,news,headlines,press,frontpageWed, 20 Sep 2017 14:29:11 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_shutterstock-41074129-2.jpg?10000Abingdon, Benson, Drayton & Thame streets benefit from continuing streetlighting improvement workhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon-benson-drayton--thame-streets-benefit-from-continuing-streetlighting-improvement-work/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon-benson-drayton--thame-streets-benefit-from-continuing-streetlighting-improvement-work/Oxfordshire County Council’s £3.8m programme to improve 3,200 streetlights in the county continues in southern Oxfordshire from September 25. The streetlights are being replaced with new steel columns and higher quality LED light solution which also reduces energy and future on-going maintenance requirements.

The streets where work is scheduled to take place from Monday, September 25 are in Abingdon, Benson, Drayton, St Helen Without and Thame

Abingdon

VINEYARD

Benson

CLAY LANE

Drayton

STEVENTON ROAD

St Helen Without

FARINGDON ROAD

Thame

DORMER ROAD

Thame

WENMAN ROAD

The finance for the scheme as a whole comes from a £2.8m central Government grant and £1m of Oxfordshire County Council capital funding.

]]>Abingdon,Benson,Drayton,St Helen Without,Thame,news,press,headlines,highwaysMon, 18 Sep 2017 11:03:15 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_streetlights.jpg?10000Free electric blanket testing offered as the winter months approachhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/free-electric-blanket-testing-offered-as-the-winter-months-approach/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/free-electric-blanket-testing-offered-as-the-winter-months-approach/People in Oxfordshire who have electric blankets to keep them warm on Autumn and Winter nights are being urged to get them tested for freeAs the autumn is approaching and the temperature is getting colder, Oxfordshire County Council Trading Standards & Fire and Rescue Services are offering free testing of such blankets to ensure people have a warm, safe winter.

Blanket testing is taking place at the following locations during October:

Oxford - Monday 2 October

Banbury - Tuesday 3 October

Witney - Wednesday 4 October

Wallingford - Thursday 5 October

Abingdon - Friday 6 October

Oxford - Monday 16 October

Bicester - Tuesday 17 October

Chipping Norton - Wednesday 18 October

Thame - Thursday 19 October

Wantage - Friday 20 October

Councillor Judith Heathcoat, Oxfordshire County Council’s Deputy Leader, said: ““I urge people to book their place at one of the testing days. As the cold winter months approach, many people will be dusting off their electric blankets ready for use.

"If the condition of the blanket is allowed to deteriorate there is the possibility that it could have become faulty, which could lead to injury and fire.

“We want to ensure that they are still safe for use, so come along and encourage any elderly neighbours to attend too. It is better to be safe than sorry.”

In 2016 831 blankets were tested and 177 blankets failed, a rate of 21%.

]]>news,press,headlines,fire and rescue service,trading standards,Oxford,Banbury,Witney,Wallingford,Abingdon,Oxford,Bicester,Chipping Norton,Thame,WantageThu, 14 Sep 2017 08:14:31 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_electricblankettesting2012.jpg?10000New speed limit and lighting for road linking Sutton Courtenay, Milton Park and Didcothttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/new-speed-limit-and-lighting-for-road-that-links-sutton-courtenay-milton-park--didcot/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/new-speed-limit-and-lighting-for-road-that-links-sutton-courtenay-milton-park--didcot/Motorists using a road that links Sutton Courtenay and Didcot will see the speed limit reduced and new street lighting installed. Sutton Courtenay Road, which becomes Milton Road along its length, will be reduced from 60mph to 40mph following a decision by Oxfordshire County Council.

The plan is part of measures to improve safety for cyclists travelling between Didcot, Milton Park and Sutton Courtenay.

New street-lighting will predominantly be installed on the northern side of Milton Road but with some lighting units located on the southern side at the bend at the western end of Milton Road.

Funding for the proposed speed limit changes is from the Science Vale Cycle Network project.

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy Councillor Yvonne Constance approved the plan at a meeting on September 7.

]]>Sutton Courtenay,Didcot,Milton,news,headlines,press,highways,roads and transportThu, 07 Sep 2017 10:49:00 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_forty.png?10000Work planned for the Vineyard in Abingdonhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/work-planned-for-the-vineyard-in-abingdon/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/work-planned-for-the-vineyard-in-abingdon/Oxfordshire County Council will be carrying out maintenance work on The Vineyard between The Motte and The Holt junctions from 20 September.

Contractors working for the council will be replacing damaged kerbs and ironwork, resurfacing of the existing carriageway and replacing road markings.

The work, which will cost around £200,000, is expected to last for eight nights, subject to any bad weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances during construction.

Traffic management

To allow the work to be carried out safely and keep traffic disruption to a minimum, the work will be done in the following phases:

Phase 1: Wednesday 20 September to Friday 22 September, 8pm to 6am – two-way temporary traffic signals to enable preparation work to be carried out, including kerb and ironwork replacement.

Phase 2: Monday 25 September to Friday 29 September, 8pm to 6am – full road closure to enable the resurfacing work to be carried out and replacement of road markings. A signed diversion route will be put in place, see enclosed plan for details.

The Vineyard will be fully reopened to traffic outside of these periods.

Staff will be at either end of the closure to direct traffic and pedestrians to ensure the safety of the public and workforce.

Public Transport

The work will impact bus services in the following way:

Phase 1: Normal bus service.

Phase 2:

Service No.31 will be diverted from Oxford Road onto Northcourt Road, Wootton Road, Bath Street, Stratton Way and vice versa.

Service No.35 will be diverted from Radley Way onto Audlett Drive on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 September.

Service No 35 will be diverted from Radley Way onto Oxford Road, Northcourt Road, Wootton Road, Bath Street, Stratton Way and vice versa on Wednesday 27, Thursday 28 and Friday 29 September.

Some bus stops on The Vineyard will need to be relocated during the work and temporary bus stop locations will be detailed at the stops themselves closer to the start of the works. The above bus services will operate as normal outside of our working hours.

]]>news,transport,abingdonWed, 06 Sep 2017 11:43:47 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_vineyard.jpg?10000North Oxford, Carterton, Bicester, Abingdon and Didcot are the focus for continuing streetlighting improvement workhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/north-oxford-carterton-bicester-abingdon-and-didcot-are-the-focus-for-continuing-streetlighting-improvement-work/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/north-oxford-carterton-bicester-abingdon-and-didcot-are-the-focus-for-continuing-streetlighting-improvement-work/Oxfordshire County Council’s £3.8m programme to improve 3,200 streetlights in the county continues in North Oxford, Carterton, Bicester, Abingdon and Didcot from August 28. The streetlights are being replaced with new steel columns and higher quality LED light solution which also reduces energy and future on-going maintenance requirements.

The streets where work is scheduled to take place from Monday, August 28 are:

Oxford City - North

Bourne Close

Oxford City - North

Carey Close

Oxford City - North

Davenant Road

Oxford City - North

Haslemere Gardens

Oxford City - North

Holt Weer Close

Oxford City - North

Millers Acre

Oxford City - North

Pennywell Drive

Oxford City - North

Priors Forge

Oxford City - North

Scott Road

Oxford City - North

Sparsey Place

Oxford City - North

Templar Road

Oxford City - North

Upland Park Road

Oxford City - North

Woodstock Close

Abingdon

Argentan Close

Abingdon

Caldecott Road

Abingdon

Cameron Avenue

Abingdon

Faringdon Road

Abingdon

Schongau Close

Abingdon

St Helens Court

Abingdon

The Motte

Carterton

Burford Rd/Health Cente FP

Carterton

Rose Close

Bicester

Bernwood Road

Bicester

Campbell Close

Bicester

Chichester Close

Bicester

Fallowfields

Bicester

Green Close

Bicester

Linden Road

Bicester

Longfields

Bicester

Maple Road

Bicester

Withington Road

Didcot

Basil Hill Road

The finance for the scheme as a whole comes from a £2.8m central Government grant and £1m of Oxfordshire County Council capital funding.

]]>Oxford,Carterton,Abingdon,Didcot,Bicester,highways,news,press,headlinesThu, 24 Aug 2017 12:21:18 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_streetlight.jpg?10000South Oxfordshire home care agency rated “Outstanding” as county races ahead of national averageshttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/south-oxfordshire-home-care-agency-rated-outstanding-as-county-races-ahead-of-national-averages/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/south-oxfordshire-home-care-agency-rated-outstanding-as-county-races-ahead-of-national-averages/A home care provider in Oxfordshire has been rated as “Outstanding” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), confirming that the county is ahead of national averages.George Springall Homecare is a domiciliary care (home care) agency providing support and care to people in their own homes in the South Oxfordshire area - currently with clients in Wallingford, Botley, Steventon, Shippon, Standlake, Abingdon and Berinsfield.

Following an inspection earlier this year it has been given the CQC’s top rating of “Outstanding” – which is rarely awarded. The other possible ratings following an inspection are “Good”, “requires improvement” or “inadequate”.

The award means that Oxfordshire is now better than the national average for “Oustanding” domiciliary care agencies with three per cent given the top rating locally compared to two per cent nationally. A total of 86 per cent of local agencies are rated “good” compared to 82 per cent nationally.

Councillor Lawrie Stratford, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: “The role of home care both here in Oxfordshire and elsewhere in the country has increased hugely in recent years.

“As such, as a council, we pay ever more attention to the CQC’s inspection results. It is pleasing to see that we are ahead of the national picture and this excellent result for the George Springall Partnership confirms that. My congratulations go to them on an excellent report that paints a picture of diligent and caring work that goes the extra mile for the people receiving care.”

What did the CQC report say?

The report said: “The service was extremely responsive to supporting people whose needs were complex and tended to change. We were repeatedly told of numerous occasions where the service had gone above and beyond of what was expected of them.

“People and relatives were delighted with the kindness and thoughtfulness of staff, which exceeded their expectations of how they would be cared for and supported. People explained how staff went the extra mile for them and assured us they couldn't ask for anything more. People told us the support they received significantly improved their well-being.

“People's relatives told us that the service went above their contractual duties by providing their loved ones with end of life care. The relatives said staff helped them to put their minds at ease and get through the difficult time. The provider's philosophy, vision and values were understood and shared within the staff team.

“The service was extremely responsive to people's needs and wishes even if the support people needed proved to exceed their contracted hours. People told us that staff went over and above the call of duty. People also said this made a profound difference to their lives.”

''Roxane Schatara the Registered Manager/Owner of George Springall said: “This amazing “Outstanding” rating honoured the memory of our beloved George Springall in the most wonderful way. We are extremely proud to be a part of this. We have a brilliant team that represents the company's values and culture within the community.''

ENDS

]]>headlines,frontpage,news,press,adult social care,Wallingford,Botley,Steventon,Shippon,Standlake,Abingdon,BerinsfieldWed, 23 Aug 2017 10:50:51 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_georgespringall.jpg?10000Nine out of 10 receive “outstanding” or “good” adult social care serviceshttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/nine-out-of-10-receive-outstanding-or-good-adult-social-care-services/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/nine-out-of-10-receive-outstanding-or-good-adult-social-care-services/Older people and those with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire receive better services from their providers than the national average across England. Of the 21,200 social care organisations/settings (care homes and home care) in England, 202 are in Oxfordshire.

The Care Quality Commission regularly inspects all these care settings across the country and has four ratings:

· Outstanding – the service is performing exceptionally well

· Good – the service is performing well and meeting CQC’s expectations

· Requires improvement – the service isn’t performing as well as it should and has been told how it must improve.

· Inadequate – the service is performing badly and action has been taken against the person/organisation running it.

More than nine out of 10 of the 4,461 people who receive services from providers, receive them from providers rated “Outstanding” or “Good”. Meanwhile a total of 88 per cent (189) of Oxfordshire’s 202 care providers are rated either “outstanding” or “good” compared to 80 per cent of national providers.

Councillor Lawrie Stratford, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: “It’s great news that more than nine out of ten people are receiving services from an outstanding or a good provider.

“Combined with the figures and comparisons with national statistics for the rating of individual care providers we can now say with certainty that adults in receipt of care from private sector agencies in Oxfordshire on average receive a better service than people elsewhere in England.

“The county council has played its part in that in its capacity as the local safeguarding authority working in partnership with the CQC. However the real credit must go to the care providers themselves who have made such improvements. I congratulate them and hope to see further improvements in coming weeks and months.

Eddy McDowall, Chief Executive at Oxfordshire Association of Care Providers said: “Delivering care in the current climate is a huge challenge. For Oxfordshire to be above the national average is a cause to celebrate the essential services they provide every day, and we congratulate home owners and staff.”

Nine out of 10 receive “outstanding” or “good” adult social care services

Older people and those with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire receive better services from their providers than the national average across England.

Of the 21,200 social care organisations/settings (care homes and home care) in England, 202 are in Oxfordshire.

The Care Quality Commission regularly inspects all these care settings across the country and has four ratings:

· Outstanding – the service is performing exceptionally well

· Good – the service is performing well and meeting CQC’s expectations

· Requires improvement – the service isn’t performing as well as it should and has been told how it must improve.

· Inadequate – the service is performing badly and action has been taken against the person/organisation running it.

More than nine out of 10 of the 4,461 people who receive services from providers, receive them from providers rated “Outstanding” or “Good”. Meanwhile a total of 88 per cent (189) of Oxfordshire’s 202 care providers are rated either “outstanding” or “good” compared to 80 per cent of national providers.

Councillor Lawrie Stratford, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: “It’s great news that more than nine out of ten people are receiving services from an outstanding or a good provider.

“Combined with the figures and comparisons with national statistics for the rating of individual care providers we can now say with certainty that adults in receipt of care from private sector agencies in Oxfordshire on average receive a better service than people elsewhere in England.

“The county council has played its part in that in its capacity as the local safeguarding authority working in partnership with the CQC. However the real credit must go to the care providers themselves who have made such improvements. I congratulate them and hope to see further improvements in coming weeks and months.

Eddy McDowall, Chief Executive at Oxfordshire Association of Care Providers said: “Delivering care in the current climate is a huge challenge. For Oxfordshire to be above the national average is a cause to celebrate the essential services they provide every day, and we congratulate home owners and staff.”

Stowford House near Shippon in Abingdon had previously been rated inadequate by CQC but is now rated “Good” in three of the five key areas inspected.

Arnon Rubinstein Managing Director of St Cloud Care who run Stowford House care home, said: ““The staff and management of Stowford House Care Home, which is based in Abingdon, are thankful for the support and guidance provided by Oxfordshire County Council’s adult social care team, specifically the safeguarding team, that has helped the home improve its CQC rating this year.

“The report indicates all the hard work done and the great teamwork achieved at the home of which we are very proud.”

Notes to editors

A table summarising the full comparison with national and local care settings is below.

Outstanding

Good

Requires improvement

Inadequate

Oxfordshire

3% (6)

85% (172)

11% (23)

0% (1)

National

2% (357)

78% (16,596)

19% (3948)

1% (301)

There is no equivalent indicator as regards individual people.

People

No

%

Outstanding

141

3.2%

Good

3920

87.9%

Requires Improvement

399

8.9%

Inadequate

1

0.0%

Grand Total

4461

100.0%

]]>press,news,headlines,abingdon,social and health care,frontpageTue, 08 Aug 2017 08:42:07 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_img-9128.jpg?10000Government cash paves the way for major upgrade to the A34 in Abingdon http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/government-cash-paves-the-way-for-major-upgrade-to-the-a34-in-abingdon/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/government-cash-paves-the-way-for-major-upgrade-to-the-a34-in-abingdon/Major improvements to the A34 in Abingdon got the green light today (26 July 2017) after Communities Secretary Sajid Javid pledged more than £9 million of Government funding.

Two new south-facing slip roads at the Lodge Hill Interchange will help end years of congestion and pave the way for up to 1,700 new homes in Abingdon.

The long-awaited scheme, which will receive up to £9.45 million over 4 years, will also boost growth in the wider Science Vale area, where up to 20,000 new jobs and 20,000 new homes will be created by 2031.

This is on top of the £2.3 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund, announced earlier this month, which will pay for local infrastructure across the country to support local housing delivery.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said:

“Local leaders in Oxfordshire want to go for growth, and so that’s why I’ve pledged more than £9 million of Government cash for this A34 upgrade scheme.

“Most people are willing to accept new housing in their areas, but they don’t want to see massive development when local roads are already under pressure.

“This funding will bring much-needed improvements to the A34 for motorists and help to deliver thousands of new homes that Oxfordshire desperately needs.

“This is thanks to the hard work of former MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, Nicola Blackwood, who tirelessly campaigned for this interchange to receive Government funding, working closely with Oxfordshire County Council and the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.”

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council said:

“The County Council is pleased to see Oxfordshire’s growth ambitions recognised by the funding announcement today. The delivery of much needed housing in and around Abingdon is heavily reliant on funding for new slips at Lodge Hill.

"Residents have been concerned that large numbers of houses will be built before the necessary highway infrastructure is in place. This announcement means that vital infrastructure will be built at the early phase of development to cope with the associated additional traffic.

"Oxfordshire County Council will continue to work with our partners at Highway’s England to deliver the scheme as quickly as possible to ensure Oxfordshire is a thriving place to live and work.”

Nigel Tipple, Chief Executive of OxLEP, said:

“This announcement represents a further positive step in ensuring Oxfordshire has an infrastructure that is fit for purpose, supporting the county’s desire to grow.

“Securing a strong infrastructure is a priority for OxLEP and we are confident that this prioritised Local Growth Fund investment will bring a variety of benefits across a number of key areas.

“We expect the Lodge Hill investment to unlock greater housing growth in the area, give better connectivity to key ‘hubs’ – such as Milton Park and the Harwell campus – as well as relieving pressure around the A34 Marcham Interchange.”

]]>news,press,infrastructure,A34,funding,Government,DCLG,OxLEP,frontpage,Abingdon,Oxfordshire,Congestion,Improving roads,Communities,Nicola Blackwood,Sajid Javid,Lodge HillWed, 26 Jul 2017 05:29:54 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_a34.jpg?10000Have your say in black and white on Drayton zebra proposalhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/have-your-say-in-black-and-white-on-drayton-zebra-proposal/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/have-your-say-in-black-and-white-on-drayton-zebra-proposal/People are to be asked for their opinions on whether a new zebra crossing should be installed on the B4017 Abingdon Road in Drayton.

The new crossing would be installed 12 metres north of the B4017’s junction with Hilliats Field and would be sited on an extended flat top road hump.

]]>news,drayton,traffic,safety,road safetyFri, 21 Jul 2017 09:09:11 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_zebracrossing-2.jpg?10000Abingdon care home on the up as Oxfordshire’s adult social care betters England averageshttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon-care-home-on-the-up-as-oxfordshires-adult-social-care-betters-england-averages/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/abingdon-care-home-on-the-up-as-oxfordshires-adult-social-care-betters-england-averages/Older people and those with learning disabilities in Oxfordshire receive better services from their providers on average than the national average across England. Of the 20,512 residential care homes, community social care providers, domiciliary care agencies and nursing homes in England, 231 are in Oxfordshire.

The Care Quality Commission regularly inspects all these care settings across the country and has four ratings:

· Outstanding – the service is performing exceptionally well

· Good – the service is performing well and meeting CQC’s expectations

· Requires improvement – the service isn’t performing as well as it should and has been told how it must improve.

· Inadequate – the service is performing badly and action has been taken against the person/organisation running it.

A total of 84 per cent (189) of Oxfordshire’s 231 care providers are rated either “outstanding” or “good” compared to 76 per cent of national providers.

Cllr Lawrie Stratford said: “On past occasions that we have been able to make these comparisons, Oxfordshire has not performed so well when compared to the national average.

“We can now say with certainty that adults in receipt of care from private sector agencies in Oxfordshire on average receive a better service than people elsewhere in England.

“The county council has played its part in that in its capacity as the local safeguarding authority working in partnership with the CQC. However the real credit must go to the care providers themselves who have made such improvements. I congratulate them and hope to see further improvements in coming weeks and months.”

Hard work

Stowford House near Shippon in Abingdon had previously been rated inadequate by CQC but is now rated “Good” in three of the five key areas inspected.

Arnon Rubinstein Managing Director of St Cloud Care who run Stowford House care home, said: ““The staff and management of Stowford House Care Home, which is based in Abingdon, are thankful for the support and guidance provided by Oxfordshire County Council’s adult social care team, specifically the safeguarding team, that has helped the home improve its CQC rating this year.

“The report indicates all the hard work done and the great teamwork achieved at the home of which we are very proud.”

Notes to editors

A table summarising the full Oxfordshire/national comparison is below.

Outstanding

Good

Requires Improvement

Inadequate

Oxfordshire

2% (4)

80% (185)

16% (38)

2% (4)

National

1% (290)

76% (15,519)

21% (4,326)

2% (377)

]]>Abingdon,adult social care,news,press,headlinesFri, 14 Jul 2017 11:57:10 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_stowford.jpg?10000New Household Waste Recycling Centre contract for Oxfordshire announcedhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/new-household-waste-recycling-centre-contract-for-oxfordshire-announced/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/new-household-waste-recycling-centre-contract-for-oxfordshire-announced/Oxfordshire County Council confirmed today that it will keep its entire network of seven Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in the county open in the medium term (with no change to opening hours or days they are open) due to a new management contract that has been awarded to W&S Recycling.

The Dorset based firm already manages five of Oxfordshire’s HWRC sites which means there will be minimal disruption to residents when the new contract starts on 1 October 2017. W&S Recycling will manage the HWRC sites at Alkerton, Ardley, Drayton, Oakley Wood, Redbridge, and Stanford in the Vale. Dix Pit HWRC will continue to be managed by FCC Environment.

Household waste remains free to bring to HWRCs

Residents will continue to be able to dispose of all household waste free of charge at any of the county’s recycling centres. Oxfordshire has had a system of charging for non-household waste which includes soil, rubble and DIY waste for 15 years and has not increased the charge of £1 per item over that time. When the new contract starts on 1 October, W&S Recycling will increase the charge for non-household waste items to £1.50 which is less than other authorities who charge for this service. In the HWRC public consultation carried out in summer 2016, 91% of Oxfordshire residents favoured charges for non-household waste over site closures.

Highly valued service

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment said:

“Oxfordshire’s residents told us very clearly that their priority was to see all the HWRCs kept open when the new contract started and I am delighted that we have been able to achieve that.

“Oxfordshire has one of the best recycling rates in the country which is thanks to the hard work of our residents who collectively make a huge difference to the environment by separating out their household waste and recycling as much as they can.

“While the county council does not have a legal obligation to accept non-household waste at HWRCs, this is a popular and highly valued service among local communities and I am therefore pleased that W&S Recycling is able to continue to offer this service, with only a modest price increase. Overall, I am delighted that our HWRC service remains an accessible, affordable service.”

New low-emission vehicle fleet

Geoff Thompson, owner of W&S Recycling said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract and are looking forward to working closely with Oxfordshire County Council to increase recycling rates at sites and continue to make improvements to the HWRCs which we know residents use regularly and value.

“Many Oxfordshire residents already pre-sort their waste and recyclables before visiting their local HWRC but we will be encouraging more residents to do the same as that will help to boost the county’s excellent recycling rate even further. We also plan to invest in a new low-emission vehicle fleet which will be used to transport materials from all of Oxfordshire’s HWRCs to their end destinations.”

Facts and figures

The £27m contract, which starts on 1 October 2017, is for a seven year period with an option to extend for up to a further three years. The Dorset based firm W&S Recycling will manage all of the county’s Household Waste Recycling Centres except for the site at Dix Pit which will continue to be managed by FCC Environment but W&S Recycling will provide management for the recyclable materials. W&S Recycling will take over responsibility for managing the Ardley HWRC which is currently operated by Viridor Waste Management Ltd.

Oxfordshire’s seven Household Waste Recycling Centres accept approximately 50,000 tonnes of household residual waste and recyclables each year with an average recycling rate of around 60%. Residents make over 1.25 million visits to the sites every year.

Stanford in the Vale - Faringdon Road, Stanford in the Vale, Faringdon.

]]>press,news,features,Household Waste,Recycling,Waste,Drayton,Crowmarsh,Stanford in the Vale,Banbury,Dix Pit,Drayton,Abingdon,Oakley Wood,Wallingford,Redbridge,Oxford,Faringdon,Ardley,Contract,W&S Recycling,Environment,Rubbish,Reuse,Recycle,frontpageFri, 23 Jun 2017 14:09:05 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_oxfordshirecountycouncilcopyright2017geoffthompsonownerofwampsrecyclingandcouncilloryvonneconstancecabinetmemberforenvironmentatoxfordshirecountycouncil.jpg?10000More community groups to receive funding for open-access children’s services http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/more-community-groups-to-receive-funding-for-open-access-childrens-services/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/more-community-groups-to-receive-funding-for-open-access-childrens-services/Start-up funding for a further ten community schemes to run open access services at children’s centres has been approved by Oxfordshire County Council.The proposals, which stand to receive a total of £258,458, are the latest to be considered as part of the transition from council-funded to community-led services at children’s centre locations.

Community services will complement the council’s new service for 0-19 year-olds, which will meet the needs and aspirations of children at risk of abuse and neglect in Oxfordshire, and ensure that families who need extra help are identified at an early stage.

Total adds up

When added to previously considered applications, the approval of these latest proposals would give a total of 25 funded community schemes for services such as ‘stay and play’ to continue at children’s centres across the county.

On top of this, open access sessions are continuing at the Children and Family Centres and satellite centres at the heart of the council’s new Children’s Service.

Fantastic response

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Local Communities Councillor Mark Gray said: “Over the last year we have seen a tremendous response from local communities who have taken up the baton for the delivery of open access children’s services across the county.

“In many cases what parents will see when they come into these centres will be little different from when they were fully funded by the council, and that’s testament to the commitment and hard work of local people who have made this happen.”

He added: “It has never been the council’s desire to see children’s centres close, and through the transition fund we have worked alongside a large number of community groups to help them bring their plans to fruition.”

]]>Ambrosden,Grove,Wantage,Oxford,Henley,Abingdon,Bicester,Thame,Botley,Carterton,Bloxham,Wallingford,Wheatley,Hampton Poyle,Kidlington,Faringdon,Witney,Banbury,Didcot,Chipping Norton,Berinsfield,Chalgrove,Watlington,children's centres,frontpageTue, 20 Jun 2017 15:24:46 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_carteronfamilycentreopens2.jpg?10000Oxfordshire weddings rise by nearly ten per cent in the space of a yearhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshire-weddings-rise-by-nearly-ten-per-cent-in-the-space-of-a-year/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshire-weddings-rise-by-nearly-ten-per-cent-in-the-space-of-a-year/The number of marriages in Oxfordshire rose by almost 10 per cent during 2016/17 when compared to the previous year, ahead of national trends.Oxfordshire County Council’s Registration Service has reported that the number of weddings taking place during the year rose to 2,560 – up from 2,356 in 2015/16.

The Registration Service has a strong track record of promoting Oxfordshire as “the place to marry” and each year launches a new brochure in a bid to choose the county as a wedding venue and to residents to hold their ceremony in their home county.

Alicja Gilroy, Oxfordshire County Council’s Superintendent Registrar, said: “The strong increase in the number of weddings is a real boost to the local economy. By putting effort in to attracting people from elsewhere to hold their ceremony in Oxfordshire we bring trade for hoteliers, restaurants and a whole host of other tourism related ventures. All of that helps Oxfordshire thrive and we’re very proud of the statistics for the lasts 12 months.

“We’re clearly lucky to have so many spectacular places that attract people to Oxfordshire for weddings, such as Blenheim Palace, the Ashmolean and University related venues. However we do make the most of that advantage by promoting those places and others quite heavily. That is clearly reaping dividends.

“We’ve just recently launched our new wedding brochure and we will continue to do whatever we can to market Oxfordshire as the place to get married. Hopefully we will be able to build further on the 9.5 per cent increase in weddings we have seen in the last 12 months”.

]]>registration,Abingdon,Banbury,Bicester,Didcot,Henley,Oxford,Witney,news,press,headlinesWed, 31 May 2017 09:17:11 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_alicjaagain.jpg?10000Parking improvements for disabled people in Berinsfield, Sonning Common, Stoke Row, Abingdon and Steventonhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/parking-improvements-for-disabled-people-in-berinsfield-sonning-common-stoke-row-abingdon-and-steventon/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/parking-improvements-for-disabled-people-in-berinsfield-sonning-common-stoke-row-abingdon-and-steventon/Parking for disabled people is to be improved at various locations throughout southern Oxfordshire.Oxfordshire County Council received requests for new parking spaces for disabled people at the following locations:

Wey Road, Berinsfield

Churchill Crescent, Sonning Common

Church View, Stoke Row

Welford Gardens, Abingdon

Green Close, Steventon

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Yvonne Constance, approved the new arrangements at a meeting on May 25.

]]>Steventon,Berinsfield,Sonning Common,Stoke Row,Abingdon,press,news,headlines,highwaysThu, 25 May 2017 15:24:51 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_disabledparking.jpg?10000Free compost giveaway to green fingered residentshttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/compost-awareness-week/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/compost-awareness-week/A free compost giveaway and low cost compost bins are being offered to Oxfordshire residents to mark National Compost Awareness Week (7 - 13 May 2017). Home composting is easy and inexpensive to do and can transform your kitchen and garden waste into a free, nutrient rich food for your garden.

Local events

Oxfordshire's volunteer Master Composters will be offering advice and guidance on home composting at a series of events taking place across the county:

Master Composters

Oxfordshire's team of volunteer Master Composters are trained to help people to start composting at home, and support those who already do so.

In return for free training and support, Master Composters commit to carrying out 30 hours voluntary work in their local communities. They work with local groups such as schools and gardening clubs as well as friends and neighbours - wherever they feel they can help.

If you would like to talk to a Master Composter about attending an event or helping with your school composting, please email waste.management@oxfordshire.gov.uk or call 01865 816043.

]]>news,press,compost,recycling,waste management,discount bin,Oxford,Oxfordshire,master composters,Banbury,Crowmarsh,Abingdon,BicesterMon, 08 May 2017 16:15:00 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_compost-419261.jpg?10000Easter Holiday Activitieshttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/easter-holiday-activities/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/easter-holiday-activities/There's no shortage of things to do this Easter in Oxfordshire!There are so many things to do over the Easter holidays across Oxfordshire!

We've put this list together from our fantastic Family Information Directory - to help you keep the kids occupied over the holidays this spring. Seen anything we should add to the list? Let us know!

Adam Bradley Coaching and his team will once again be hosting their popular Football School at Tucker Park, during the Easter School Holidays. Bring a packed lunch and plenty to drink plus some spending money for the tuck shop during lunch time.Farindon

Cogges is delighted to be exhibiting drawings, mixed media, paintings and textiles from popular, local artist, Sally Wyatt. From expressive painterly sketching in watercolour to abstraction in oils and collage, Sally's work is informed by the landscape and flora of Cogges.Witney

Banbury (People's Park) Play & Activity Day
Wednesday 26th July
OPA Play & Activity Days 2017 - Come and join us for a fun filled event offering both FREE Entrance and FREE Activities to ensure that we have an inclusion for ALL

You will be able to undertake a range of Playful activities all designed…You will be able to undertake a range of Playful activities all designed to keep you Physically Active, Healthy and Well. We will also show you how to play on a budget using Recycled and Natural MaterialsBanbury

Barracks Lane Community Garden is a community run green space off the Cowley Road in Cowley/East Oxford. The Garden is a wonderful peaceful place to spend time and relax. Funded by National Lottery Awards for All, we are starting up a new group this spring.Barracks Lane, Cowley Marsh, Oxford

Better Extreme Trampoline Park
Open 7 days a week
At our trampoline you'll find a huge main jump arena with unique features allowing you to pull off some crazy flips. We also have a whole range of other cool features for you to enjoy with your family and friends, including a fidget ladder!Link Leisure Centre West Swindon District Centre, Swindon

This workshop is designed especially for boys, providing them with the rare opportunity to dance with other boys and explore contemporary and urban dance techniques. Led by a male dancer, the workshops are suitable for all levels of experience. The day culminates in a demonstration of the skills learned, on our stage.

The Easter Bunny will be hopping into our restaurant soon. Come and enjoy our special Easter event, a treat for kids of all ages (and grown ups too!)Bicester Avenue, Oxford Road, Bicester

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny at Hilltop Garden Centre
Sunday 16th April The Easter Bunny invites you to bring your Little Bunnies to Hilltop Garden Store and enjoy a yummy breakfast and eggciting games on Easter Sunday. Each child will be given surprise gifts to take home. Happy, hoppy Easter!!

Discover some of the marvellous mini-beasts that live at the Arboretum before making some simple crafts to take home. Create a bug hotel for your garden, some super racing snails and a brilliant bee game.

On Thursday 13th April, our family friendly Spring Festival returns for another year at the Charlton Centre (Charlton Village Road, Wantage, OX12 7HG). There will be kids’ crafts, live music, cream teas, cakes and treats. Also, plants for sale, a bouncy castle, the ever popular Easter Egg Trail and lots more. Gates are open 11a.m. to 2p.m. £1 for adults, kids go free. Please note there is limited parking on site and no dogs are allowed. Money raised will go towards the Wantage Market Garden Project which creates gardening opportunities for everyone. Come and enjoy the spring flowers and bring a picnic.

Enjoy this working industrial Museum with its late 19th Century Steam Beam Engine, working Waterwheel, Dual Blacksmiths Forge. Alongside all our steam and water powered machinery we welcome visiting Steam Engines and Vehicles to Combe Mill as well as woodworking machinery fully working and various projects and puzzles.

Have a go at making a poker in our blacksmiths’ forge. See how country houses and farms would have powered their machinery. Demonstrations of craftsmen's tools plus a collection of Working Historic Tower Clocks make for an enjoyable visit. See our working Beam Engine and Line Shafting together with the Restored Waterwheel. Discover the natural history of the adjacent River Evenlode and forest. You can relax by the River Evenlode in the riverside picnic area. There is a Millie-the-mill-cat trail for the children to win a `Millie` badge. There is plenty to enjoy and do with refreshments available in our Riverside Tea Room… a place to discover.

CRE8TIVE KIDZ is back... This Easter Cre8tive Kidz will be at Mill Lane Community Primary School for another fun filled 4 days of dancing, singing, arts and crafts. This 4 day holiday club for children aged 4+ will run from Monday 10th April

Wednesday 12th AprilCome along for some creative Easter fun with the Creation Station Bicester on Wednesday 12th April from 10-11am in the Tesco Community space. We will have some clay fun making an Easter Bunny or Chick and an Easter Egg Mobile. Booking is required and tickets are £5.50 per child and £3.00 per sibling.

Monday 10th April, 10am-3pmYou’ll be the bees’ knees at creepy crawly comic drawing after attending our session with popular cartoonist Neill Cameron, whose work features in The Phoenix comic. You’ll explore the nature reserve and then create your comic inspired by what you discover. For 7-11 year olds; parents welcome to stay. £30 (ask about our discount for siblings).

Forest School for the under-5s. Come and join us for a morning of play and discovery in our woodlands. Forest School offers hands on learning experiences in a natural environment. Sessions are led by a trained Forest School leader. £4 suggested donation per child, accompanying…

From Easter Egg hunts to eggtastic sporting activities, crafts to cooking, there's loads going on across Buckinghamshire to keep the family entertained this Easter. We have hundreds of different activities, camps and days out and free low cost things to do.

Bright Sparks Events science holiday activities are designed to entertain primary school aged children during the school holidays. We provide a safe environment for children to come along and experiment for themselves, take part in our science challenges and investigate how things work.

Join us for a day, jam packed full of science tricks, messy experiments, fun games and science crafts. We will be running a whole day of science activities in various venues during the Easter half term: £28 per child (aged 5-11 years).

Rush Common School, Hendred Way, Abingdon

]]>news,activities,fun,witney,abingdon,brightwell,faringdon,oxford,banbury,bicester,chipping norton,nuneham courtneyFri, 31 Mar 2017 15:44:14 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_shutterstock-245440294.jpg?10000Bishopswood School, Sonning Common wins Trading Standards Quizhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/bishopswood-school-sonning-common-wins-trading-standards-quiz/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/bishopswood-school-sonning-common-wins-trading-standards-quiz/Sonning Common’s Bishopswood school were this year’s winners of the Oxfordshire Consumer Challenge Quiz run by Oxfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service.The quiz, held at Unipart House in Oxford is an annual event for children with learning difficulties and is designed to give them a chance to demonstrate their consumer and safety skills and knowledge. This has now been running for 18 years.

It was a close run competition with all eight schools neck and neck. The event also included a poetry competition which was won by The Iffley Academy, Oxford and the winners of the mascot competition was a jubilant Mabel Prichard School, Oxford.

Oxfordshire County Council Chairman Councillor Michael Waine presented the prizes to the winners. There were medals, goody bags and Easter eggs for all team members from the 8 schools from across Oxfordshire.

Richard Webb, Head of Community Protection Services for Oxfordshire County Council was the quiz master for the day and said “It was a fantastic, lively event and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Oxfordshire County Councils Trading Standards Service runs this quiz every year. It is for children with learning difficulties and is a chance for them to demonstrate their consumer skills and knowledge on safety in a hands on, team effort”.

Shelley Edwards, Schools Liaison Officer for the Trading Standards Service said “The competition teaches life skills and consumer knowledge in a fun and friendly way. The quiz is mainly visual and hands-on, rather than a standard question and answer format.”

Each school put forward a team of four pupils and those taking part included: The Endeavour Academy from Headington, Bishopswood School in Sonning Common, the Iffley Academy in Oxford, Bardwell School from Bicester, Kingfisher School in Abingdon, Mabel Prichard School in Oxford, John Watson School in Wheatley and Springfield School in Witney.

]]>news,trading standards,headlines,press,Wheatley,Sonning Common,Abingdon,oxford,bicester,WitneyWed, 29 Mar 2017 13:45:13 +0100https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_bishopswood.jpg?10000Library service reveals short story contest winnershttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/library-service-reveals-short-story-contest-winners/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/library-service-reveals-short-story-contest-winners/Two engaging tales of the unexpected have won the Oxfordshire Libraries 2017 short story competition – earning countywide exposure for their authors.

Grove resident Jez Fernandez (main picture) triumphed in the adult category with ‘Time of Death’, a brilliant tale with a twist, centring on the surprising things found floating down a river.

The winner of the young adult category was Abingdon and Witney College student Eleanor Launchbury. Her story ‘Connected’ explores the idea of people coming together in unexpected places.

The winning titles are both now available for free on the library Overdrive eBook service. Library members can access them by visiting www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/ebooks and selecting ‘Overdrive’.

“Ecstatic”

Mr Fernandez, who works as a professional trainer and coach, said: “This was the first short story I’d written since school and I'm ecstatic to have won this competition. I can also officially call myself a ‘prize-winning author’, which was one of my objectives!”

Miss Launchbury added: “I enjoy writing and am really glad to have won the Oxfordshire Libraries Short Story Competition 2017. I love reading, and have been a library member all my life, so it has been really great to be a winner.”

Young Adult category winner Eleanor launchbury

Popular read

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Cultural Services Lorraine Lindsay-Gale said: “Last year’s winners were some of the most-read eBooks available from our libraries and I’m sure Jez and Eleanor’s work will be similarly popular with readers this year.

“I’d like to congratulate them both on their fantastic stories, which saw off some pretty stiff competition from budding authors who entered the competition from right across Oxfordshire.”

Both authors hope to go on writing in the future. Anyone wanting to see what made them this year’s outstanding wordsmiths can read their stories at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/ebooks

]]>press,news,libraries,leisure and culture,Witney,abingdon,GroveTue, 14 Mar 2017 14:27:15 +0000https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_shortstorywinner1.jpg?10000Ditch the phone before you go mobile - it's the lawhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/ditch-the-phone-before-you-go-mobile---its-the-law/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/ditch-the-phone-before-you-go-mobile---its-the-law/It is now illegal to use a hand-held phone or similar device while driving at all times – even if stopped in traffic.

Penalty points

If caught you could now get 6 penalty points on your licence and a fine of £200. Your case could also go to court and you could be disqualified from driving or riding and get a maximum fine of £1,000. Drivers of buses or goods vehicles could get a maximum fine of £2,500.

With the recent changes in law regarding mobile phone use, it’s interesting to ask why the changes to the law have been brought in.

Shocking findings

TheTransport Research Laboratory conducted a study of the effects of mobile phone use whilst driving, using the benchmark of a person having a blood alcohol count at the legal limit. The results are shocking as their graphic shows.

Reaction times

Mick Clarke, Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service Road Safety Manager explained: “Your reaction times are hugely affected by holding a conversation on a mobile phone, primarily because of how we communicate.

“When you have a face to face conversation with someone, the majority of information you absorb from them is actually non-verbal - you read their body language and do so unconsciously.

“If you remove the visual cues by having that conversation over a mobile phone your brain has to work that much harder to process the conversation.

“When putting the activity together with a skill that requires both cognitive and psychomotor function to be working in harmony – in simple language thinking and moving in response to two different things at once - the effects can be devastating.

“The vast majority of people who obey the laws are to be congratulated for helping to keep our roads safer. Those who are still using phones when they drive need to take the opportunity to change their habits now.”

]]>mobile phone,road safety,car safety,oxford,didcot,witney,bicester,fire and rescue,safer transport,abingdonTue, 14 Mar 2017 13:32:31 +0000https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_carstoppingmain.jpg?10000Open access children’s services to continue at 34 buildings http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/open-access-childrens-services-to-continue-at-34-buildings/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/open-access-childrens-services-to-continue-at-34-buildings/Start-up funding for 12 more community schemes to run open access services at children’s centres has been approved by Oxfordshire County Council.

The proposals, which will receive a total of £305,883, are among the latest to be considered as part of the transition from council-funded to community-led services at children’s centre locations.

Community services will complement the council’s new service for 0-19 year-olds, which will meet the needs and aspirations of children at risk of abuse and neglect in Oxfordshire, and ensure that families who need extra help are identified at an early stage.

Total adds up – and more to come

When added to previously considered applications, the approval of these 12 schemes means funded plans are now in place for services such as ‘stay and play’ to continue at 18 children’s centres, with business cases at a further six centres supported in principle but deferred to the final round of the Transition Fund for more work.

Added to this, open access sessions will also continue at the eight Children and Family Centres and two satellite centres at the heart of the council’s new Children’s Service.

In total, it means a combination of council-funded and community-led solutions for open access services are now confirmed or supported in principle at 34 buildings across the county – with more to come when applications for the final round of transition funding are considered.

Fantastic response

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Children and Family Services Melinda Tilley said: “The response of local communities has been fantastic, and we are well on the way to seeing solutions in place at the vast majority of children’s centre locations. It has never been the council’s intention to close children’s centres – quite the opposite in fact.

“I suspect many people didn’t think this was possible, but we now have the makings of a truly countywide distribution of locations where ‘drop-in’ children’s services will continue to operate. I look forward to these schemes getting up and running as soon as possible, as I’m sure do many families across Oxfordshire.”

List of bids deferred to final round for more work but supported in principle:

Aflah Nursery (Florence Park Children’s Centre, Oxford)

The Nature Effect (Florence Park Children’s Centre, Oxford)

Mortimer Hall (Marston Northway Children’s Centre)

The Kings Church Didcot (South Didcot Children’s Centre)

Sunshine Centre (Sunshine Centre, Banbury)

Witney Methodist Church (Witney Children’s Centre)

List of Children and Family Centres and satellite centres providing council-funded open access services:

Banbury

Bicester

Witney

Abingdon

Didcot

Barton

Rose Hill

Blackbird Leys

East Oxford (satellite centre at the current Early Intervention Hub)

Banbury (satellite centre at the current East Street Children’s Centre.

Total locations set to continue open access services: 34

]]>press,news,community,Oxfordshire,children,Children education and families,families,parents,schools,young people,Banbury,oxford,education and learning,Abingdon,Witney,Didcot,Wallingford,Kidlington,Carterton,thame,Botley,Grandpont,Bloxham,bicester,faringdon,Grove,Chipping Norton,Wantage,Cutteslowe,Blackbird LeysTue, 21 Feb 2017 15:37:43 +0000https://content.presspage.com/clients/150_1660.jpg?10000Open access children’s services set to continue at 34 buildings http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/open-access-childrens-services-set-to-continue-at-34-buildings/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/open-access-childrens-services-set-to-continue-at-34-buildings/Start-up funding for 12 more community schemes to run open access services at children’s centres is recommended for approval by Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet on February 21.The proposals, which stand to receive a total of £305,883, are among the latest to be considered as part of the transition from council-funded to community-led services at children’s centre locations.

Community services will complement the council’s new service for 0-19 year-olds, which will meet the needs and aspirations of children at risk of abuse and neglect in Oxfordshire, and ensure that families who need extra help are identified at an early stage.

Total adds up – and more to come

When added to previously considered applications, the approval of these 12 schemes would mean funded plans are now in place for services such as ‘stay and play’ to continue at 18 children’s centres, with business cases at a further six centres supported in principle but deferred to the final round of the Transition Fund for more work.

Added to this, open access sessions will also continue at the eight Children and Family Centres and two satellite centres at the heart of the council’s new Children’s Service.

In total, it means a combination of council-funded and community-led solutions for open access services are now confirmed, recommended for approval or supported in principle at 34 buildings across the county – with more to come when applications for the final round of transition funding are considered in June.

Fantastic response

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Children and Family Services Melinda Tilley said: “The response of local communities has been fantastic, and we are well on the way to seeing solutions in place at the vast majority of children’s centre locations. It has never been the council’s intention to close children’s centres – quite the opposite in fact.

“I suspect many people didn’t think this was possible, but we now have the makings of a truly countywide distribution of locations where ‘drop-in’ children’s services will continue to operate. I look forward to these schemes getting up and running as soon as possible, as I’m sure do many families across Oxfordshire.”

List of bids deferred to final round for more work but supported in principle:

Aflah Nursery (Florence Park Children’s Centre, Oxford)

The Nature Effect (Florence Park Children’s Centre, Oxford)

Mortimer Hall (Marston Northway Children’s Centre)

The Kings Church Didcot (South Didcot Children’s Centre)

Sunshine Centre (Sunshine Centre, Banbury)

Witney Methodist Church (Witney Children’s Centre)

List of Children and Family Centres and satellite centres providing council-funded open access services:

Banbury

Bicester

Witney

Abingdon

Didcot

Barton

Rose Hill

Blackbird Leys

East Oxford (satellite centre at the current Early Intervention Hub)

Banbury (satellite centre at the current East Street Children’s Centre).

Total locations set to continue open access services: 34

]]>Wallingford,Hampton Poyle,Kidlington,Banbury,bicester,Witney,Abingdon,Didcot,oxford,Bloxham,Carterton,Botley,thame,henley,Wheatley,Wantage,Grove,Chipping Norton,Berinsfield,Chalgrove,watlington,faringdon,Children education and families,news,pressMon, 13 Feb 2017 16:14:08 +0000https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_primaryschoolchildren.jpg?10000Jack and Lily top the list of Oxfordshire most popular baby names in 2016http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/jack-and-lily-top-the-list-of-oxfordshire-most-popular-baby-names-in-2016/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/jack-and-lily-top-the-list-of-oxfordshire-most-popular-baby-names-in-2016/The most popular Christian names in Oxfordshire in 2016 were Lily and Jack, the county council’s Registration service has reported.A total of 8,347 births were registered in the county during 2016 with popular name choices by parents being broadly similar to those in 2015.

For girls, Amelia dropped to second place behind Lily while Ava, Sophia, Evie and Sophie entered the top ten in 2016.

For boys Jack leapt straight in to the top ten at number one with Joshua, Thomas and Samuel entering the top ten in 2016.

Alicja Gilroy, Superintendant Registrar at Oxfordshire County Council’s Registration Service, said: “It’s always interesting to gather the figures together and look at the most popular Christian names in Oxfordshire.

“This year we can see a continued trend toward very traditional Christian names – names that have stood the test of time and that our Grandparents or Great Grandparents may have been christened with in the first half of the 20th century.

“There’s a temptation to refer to these names as ‘old-fashioned’, but given how popular they are in the here and now they are quite clearly the reverse.”

Oxfordshire County Council’s Registration Service provides a caring and efficient service for registering births, deaths, marriages, civil partnerships and other celebratory ceremonies.

The service operates out of Registration Offices in Abingdon, Banbury, Bicester, Didcot, Henley, Oxford and Witney.

The 2016 Oxfordshire Christian name league table (with 2015 for comparison)

Girls

2015

2016

1. Amelia

Lily

2. Lily

Amelia

3. Isla

Olivia

4. Emily

Isla

5. Olivia

Emily

6. Grace

Ava

7. Isabella

Sophia

8. Matilda

Evie

9. Alice

Isabella

10. Ella

Sophie

Boys

2015

2016

1. Oliver

Jack

2. Harry

Henry

3. William

Harry

4. Henry

George

5. Alexander

Oliver

6. Jacob

Joshua

7. Noah

Thomas

8. Oscar

William

9. George

Samuel

10. Edward and James (joint)

James

]]>press,news,Abingdon,Banbury,Witney,bicester,Didcot,henley,oxford,registrationMon, 06 Feb 2017 07:32:12 +0000https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_christiannames.jpg?10000Additional £875,000 to help transition to a new future for Oxfordshire’s daytime support serviceshttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/additional-875000-to-help-transition-to-a-new-future-for-oxfordshires-daytime-support-services/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/additional-875000-to-help-transition-to-a-new-future-for-oxfordshires-daytime-support-services/Oxfordshire County Council is proposing a new daytime support system that would enable older people and those with disabilities to live independently in their community. Having listened to more than 1,000 responses to a consultation that ran during November and December, the council’s original proposals have changed to reflect comments made - with £875,000 extra being spent.

The proposals, to be considered by the council’s cabinet on January 24, continue to include a guaranteed core service for people who require daytime support, alongside financial support to enable community-based services to continue to flourish.

People with assessed needs who receive help from Oxfordshire County Council’s adult social services would continue to receive support under a new proposed structure for daytime support in the county. Changes would not begin until late Summer/Autumn 2017.

Additional support to the voluntary sector

The proposal to cabinet also includes an additional money to be spent in the following way:

An additional £550,000 in a transition fund for voluntary sector providers who receive grant funding from the council - £300,000 in 2017/18 and £250,000 in 2018/19. This is in direct response to providers who responded to the consultation to say more time was needed.

There would be an additional £100,000 on fundraising support for the voluntary sector.

The council would replace its current annual funding for 47 community-based daytime support services with grant pots totalling £350,000 a year, which services could bid for under two categories. Funding is not currently linked to any system based on actual need. The council believes it can reduce overall funding and would target it at those services that would be unsustainable without it, plus those services that wish to innovate via:

Innovation Fund – the council proposes to provide one-off grant funding to establish self-sustaining new services to fill gaps in the market. There will be a grant pot of £100,000. (£25,000 less than originally proposed)

Sustainability Fund – the council proposes to provide grants to enable the ongoing delivery of daytime support services in areas of high need. There will be a grant pot of £250,000 – this is double the proposal of £125,000 that went out to consultation in November.

There is therefore a total of £100,000 of extra permanent grant funding.

This means direct spend on voluntary sector services will be up to £900,000 in 2017/18; £600,000 in 2018/19 and £350,000 in 2019/10. It is currently £992,000.

The council values day time support services run by volunteers and will continue to support these services while encouraging new community initiatives to be launched. Three-quarters of all community-based services do not receive funding from the county council so would be unaffected by the changes.

The county council would continue to provide a core service for people who are eligible for social care support, which makes sure they have the care and support they need. It would be a countywide service with an annual budget of £4.5m and a wide range of flexible, costed support options. The council would replace its current Health and Wellbeing Centres and Learning Disability Daytime Support services (22 building-based services) with eight new bases at the Abbey Centre, Abingdon; Redlands in Banbury; Bicester Health and Wellbeing Centre; The Meadows in Didcot; Oxford Options; High Street, Wallingford; Witney Resource Centre and the Charlton Centre in Wantage.

These bases would run from October and would be subject to ongoing review in terms of locations. People with different needs will be supported in the same buildings but there would be a range of different spaces and facilities to meet different needs and interests.

Proposals include transport to and from services for everybody who is eligible for it or who chooses to purchase it.

The council-funded Dementia Support Service provides support to people with dementia and their families across Oxfordshire through Dementia Advisors. It provides face-to-face support to an average of 120 people per week. This service would continue to be funded.

The council-funded Wellbeing and Employment Service, “OxForward” provides support to people over the age of 18 with learning disabilities, autism and physical disabilities. It supports 700 people each year providing opportunities such as moving in to and maintaining volunteering roles and employment. The council proposes this should continue with its existing budget.

The council would continue to work with the Age UK-provided Community Information Network service. In the event that changes are agreed to daytime support, the Community Information Network would prioritise working with people affected by changes helping manage a personalised transition from current daytime support services for those people who do not have eligible needs.

In addition the council will be permanently investing £25,000 a year in training for services around dementia and autism and £100,000 a year in enabling people to make choices about the use of their personal budgets.

When added to the £100,000 of extra grant funding this makes up £225,000 of permanent funding in addition to the £650,000 of temporary adult social care precept funding for daytime support.

Fit for the future and sustainable over the long term

Councillor Judith Heathcoat said: “We’ve listened carefully to points raised in the consultation and responded. Daytime support helps many people stay connected to their friends and communities. We want to ensure these services can continue on a solid footing for the future and we have listened carefully to what has been said in the consultation. I am pleased we are able to spend £875,000 extra in response to comments received and in particular to enable a smoother transition period than was envisaged before the consultation.

“Through volunteers and community groups there is already a thriving daytime support network in Oxfordshire – and three-quarters of these groups currently receive no council funding at all. As such I am confident voluntary daytime support services will continue to flourish.

“We hope to create more choice of day services from voluntary and private sector organisations. Advice, support grants and the addition of a substantial amount of transitional funding will be available to make this happen.

“At the same time, the council will guarantee a core service for people who have assessed eligible needs for social care support.

“We recognise that the period of change will be difficult and there will be support from experienced, skilled staff through that process. We are confident that the new services will provide tailored support to meet needs.”

Resilient network of services

Cllr Heathcoat added: “My cabinet colleagues will be asked to make a decision on these changes on January 24. Our ambition is to create a resilient network of services that expands what is currently on offer in Oxfordshire.

“Savings come from changing the way we deliver services. There’d be fewer council-run buildings and we’d save money on transport while providing a more flexible transport system delivered by support workers.

“The extra £875,000 means we can give a lot more help to people as we transition through changes.”

Notes to editors

Savings to the council on the £9.3m of services currently provided would reduce to £8.595m in 2017/18, £6.461m in 2018/19 and £6.161m in 2019/10. The saving is therefore £3.2m by 2019. Changes to services would begin in August 2017.

]]>press,news,adult social care,Wantage,Witney,oxford,Wallingford,Didcot,bicester,Banbury,AbingdonTue, 17 Jan 2017 07:43:57 +0000https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_shutterstock-41074129.jpg?10000Open up the toolkit to avoid the floodshttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/open-up-the-toolkit-to-avoid-the-floods/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/open-up-the-toolkit-to-avoid-the-floods/Help is at hand for anyone in Oxfordshire wanting to take action to safeguard their homes or businesses against the effects of flooding.

A new online “toolkit” has been launched by Oxfordshire County Council which promises to provide a “one-stop-shop” for flooding information and advice.

The new website, which can be found at www.oxfordshirefloodtoolkit.com brings together all the information needed to take action against the potential menace posed by flooding.

First of its kind in Oxfordshire

The flood toolkit is the first resource of its kind in Oxfordshire and builds on the success of the approach in Northamptonshire. The website is also supported financially by Oxford City Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council and Thames Water.

How to guides

Visitors to the site can browse through information helpfully organised under headings such as “Am I at Risk” and learn how best to help themselves through a series of “How to” guides.

The toolkit also explains the different types of flooding that can occur with bespoke guides on how to deal with them and, for those responsible for things such as drains and streams running across their land, guides on how to carry out preventative maintenance.

Interactive illustrations give visual inspiration for ways people can protect their properties and highlight some of the areas that would not instantly spring to mind, such as the garage, air bricks and cable holes.

Preventing the worst effects of flooding

County Councillor Rodney Rose, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “The county council is the lead local flood authority for Oxfordshire which means that we have taken the idea of the flood toolkit seriously, and we are delighted with the support we have had from our partners.

“Knowledge and preparation is the key to preventing the worst effects of flooding.

“There is much that can be done to plan for and deal with flooding so that it affects you as little as possible Doing your research and taking action now is far more effective and preferable to clearing up afterwards.

“I would urge people to look at the site now. Even just doing one or two of the things shown on the site such as signing up to a flood alert could make a big difference, but I would suggest people sit down and take some time to go through the toolkit and see just how much they could do to help themselves.

“The county council and partner agencies are playing their part to reduce the impact of flooding through developing and maintaining new and existing infrastructure. But that is only part of the picture – self-help is also needed.

“Flooding can devastate homes and disrupt lives as well as have a real impact on businesses and communities. The benefits of having a plan can’t be stressed enough and so the value of the new Flood Toolkit can’t be emphasised enough.”

Find funding and teach the children

Other useful features on the toolkit site include links that could help secure funding for flood related projects and an educational pack for schools.

]]>press,news,oxford,oxfordshire,abingdon,flood,flooding,prevent flooding,thame,witneyWed, 30 Nov 2016 11:48:32 +0000https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_floodwitney2007.jpg?10000Groups to receive funding for ‘open access’ children’s serviceshttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/groups-to-receive-funding-for-open-access-childrens-services/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/groups-to-receive-funding-for-open-access-childrens-services/Six community groups planning to run ‘open access’ children’s services will receive funding worth £163,000 from a grant scheme set up by the council.

Community-led schemes will complement a comprehensive new service for 0-19-year-olds across Oxfordshire which ensures children at risk of abuse and neglect are protected and that families who need extra help are identified at an early stage.

Applications received during the first round of the £1m grant scheme were assessed by a cross-party working group of councillors which made recommendations to the council’s Cabinet. The successful bidders (listed below) are planning to run services in Oxford, Carterton, Bloxham, Marston and Thame.

A further eight bids were supported in principle by the working group, but deferred to the second round of bids so that further work can be carried out on the business models. Just three bids were considered not to meet the funding criteria and were refused.

Start-up funding

The £1m transition fund is intended to help groups establish themselves in order to become self-funding, and to develop and deliver the services that are most important to their communities – responding to specific local needs.

As part of the council’s continuing investment in early intervention, new teams of ‘locality workers’ will advise and support community groups delivering open-access sessions – such as ‘stay and play’ - as well as other universal services including schools, health and early years providers.

Positive solutions

The council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services Melinda Tilley said: “There has been a great response from local communities to identify positive solutions for providing open access services, and a huge appetite to make this a success. I’m delighted we’re now at the stage where community groups can begin putting those plans into action, with the help of start-up funding.

“Some proposals need a bit of further work, but it is clear that the cross-party working group looked very carefully at all the bids received, and that the vast majority are on the way to meeting the criteria for funding.”

She added: “We are continuing to discuss proposals with community groups as they develop their plans ahead of the second round of applications. We are also continuing to work with the Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) to support groups with developing business plans.”

The second round of applications will close on January 9.

List of applicants to receive funding:

Butterfly Meadows (Bloxham) - £29,384

Carterton Town Council - £30,000

Botley Bridges (Oxford) - £30,000

Grandpont Nursery (Oxford) - £35,600

St Nicholas Primary School (Marston) - £8,000

Sharing Life Trust (Thame) - £30,000

List of those supported in principle, but deferred for further work:

Barton Community Association

Employment Action Group (Berinsfield)

Chalgrove Primary School

Cutteslowe Primary School

The Nature Effect (Florence Park)

Magpies Pre-School (Kidlington)

Friends of Maple Tree Children’s Centre & Wheatley Nursery School

Oxfordshire Play Association (Abingdon)

]]>press,news,children,schools,education,families,parents,Children education and families,Bloxham,Carterton,Botley,Grandpont,Marston,Thame,Barton,Berinsfield,Charlgrove,Cutteslowe,Florence Park,Kidlington,Wheatley,Abingdon,information for childcare providers,childcare,open accessTue, 22 Nov 2016 15:42:45 +0000https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_shutterstock-54961303.jpg?10000Partners work together to secure future support for single homeless people in Oxfordshirehttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/partners-work-together-to-secure-future-support-for-single-homeless-people-in-oxfordshire/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/partners-work-together-to-secure-future-support-for-single-homeless-people-in-oxfordshire/A partnership approach to maintaining services for single homeless people in Oxfordshire agreed in September has been set out in detail by the county council, district councils and Oxfordshire CCG, following reduction in county council's budget of £1.5m byA unanimous agreement was reached to support proposals for a new joint governance structure to procure and manage services and accommodation for single homeless people.

The project will be delivered over a three year period starting from 1 April 2017.

A joint statement between all parties involved said: “Acting as the lead Commissioning Agency, Oxfordshire County Council is working with South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils, West Oxfordshire District Council, Oxford City Council, Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure the reduction in beds is managed and local provision for rough sleepers continues. The total investment from all agencies involved is £2,940,000 over three years.”

Councillor Judith Heathcoat said: “I am pleased that discussions held between all of the different agencies involved has led to a plan being set out on how services for single homeless people can be continued in Oxfordshire.

“These new proposals would involve £2,940,000 being contributed by the seven organisations involved over the next three years, this includes the NHS, the county council in its role as the provider of social care and the district councils in their role as housing authorities.

“This is a good example of local organisations working together to come up with a realistic solution despite difficult circumstances. I look forward to everyone continuing to work together to protect and preserve services over the next three year period.”

Housing provision is continuing to be funded and a new commissioning process will be put in place for:

A complex needs hostel based in Oxford City with allocated access for district partners in Oxfordshire (56 beds)

A range of dispersed supported beds in Oxford City for the use of Oxford City Council (42-50 beds)

Local supported beds for Cherwell District Council, (13 beds) South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils (14 beds) and West Oxfordshire District Councils. (6 beds)

Housing provision that will no longer be funded:

Simon House Hostel in Oxford City –following a 12 month decommissioning period

Julian Housing; supported accommodation dispersed across Oxford City following a 6 month decommissioning period

]]>adult social care,oxford,Abingdon,banbury,Witney,news,pressFri, 18 Nov 2016 12:31:45 +0000https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_shutterstock-158492999.jpg?10000Proposed changes to keep all Household Waste Recycling Centre's openhttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/proposed-changes-to-keep-all-hwrcs-open-in-oxfordshire/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/proposed-changes-to-keep-all-hwrcs-open-in-oxfordshire/Oxfordshire County Council is investigating a number of cost effective and innovative changes to the services offered at the county’s Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) to ensure they all remain open in the medium term.

Last December, the Cabinet agreed all seven of the County Council’s recycling centres will stay open but committed to look at new and innovative ways to deliver cost effective services.

At the Cabinet meeting on November 22, Councillors will be asked to agree proposed changes to the HWRC Waste Acceptance Policy and approve the procurement of the HWRC management contract which expires on 30 September 2017 for five of the seven sites (Alkerton near Banbury, Drayton near Abingdon, Oakley Wood near Wallingford, Redbridge in Oxford and Stanford in the Vale, Faringdon).

Proposed service changes include: shorter opening hours, charges for non-household waste, as well as offering a service for small businesses, and also more re-use and recovery of items for sale, either from the recycling centre or another location. This new approach is designed to increase recycling and minimise the amount of household waste sent to landfill and deliver value for money. Changes will be introduced when the new HWRC management contract comes into effect from 1 October 2017.

The proposed service changes reflect the feedback from the public consultation held last year when people said that service changes would be more acceptable than closing sites.

Strong support for proposed service changes

The public consultation on service changes carried out in summer 2016 showed strong support for all the proposed changes.

Extension of charges for non-household waste – Oxfordshire has had a system of charging for DIY waste for about 15 years. Under the proposed changes this waste would be managed and charged for by the contractor. Charges would be made for all the following items: non-household waste such as rubble, bricks and plasterboard, tyres, construction and demolition wood, DIY waste (e.g. kitchen units, doors, windows, baths, toilets).

Commercial waste services – Oxfordshire residents who operate small businesses would be able to use HWRCs, giving them access to affordable waste and recycling services. The intention would be to deliver this service at all HWRCs wherever possible.

Re-use and selling from site – residents will be able to drop off or separate items for re-use and potentially buy re-use items at HWRCs. This has the potential to involve, for example, charities and social enterprises; and residents can benefit from goods being available for sale at affordable prices.

Shorter opening hours – HWRC sites may open later or close earlier during the day or be closed for whole days. However, all sites would remain open at the weekend when they are most busy.

Cllr Rodney Rose, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council said: “Oxfordshire’s residents told us very clearly that their priority was to see all the HWRCs kept open and I am genuinely pleased we have an approach to make this happen. We will work hard through the procurement process to secure a sustainable and affordable service for the people of Oxfordshire.

“We are only able to keep all HWRCs open in the medium term by looking into new and innovative ways to deliver cost effective services. This was highlighted in the HWRC strategy approved by the cabinet in December 2015. It is important to remember that any agreed changes will only be introduced when the new HWRC management contract comes into effect from 1 October 2017."

]]>press,news,recycling,HWRC,charges,proposed,service,changes,Household Waste Recycling Centres,Banbury,Abingdon,Wallingford,Oxford,FaringdonTue, 15 Nov 2016 15:16:29 +0000https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1660/500_oaklywoodhwrc.jpg?10000Take the 20p tyre test to stay safe and legal on the roadshttp://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/20ptest/
http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/20ptest/As part of National Tyre Safety Month, Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service is urging residents to carry out monthly tyre checks to make them safer on the roads. The 20p tyre test is really easy to do: just place a 20p coin in the main grooves of your tyre. If you can see the outer band of the 20p coin when it's placed in the tyre, then the tyres may be dangerous and illegal and should be inspected by a tyre professional. Throughout October, many local tyre retailers will be offering a free tyre safety check that includes a tyre pressure check.

Councillor Rodney Rose, the cabinet member with responsibility for Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service, said:

“Without sufficient tread depth your tyres may not be able to cope properly and you face an increased risk of aquaplaning. If this has ever happened to you, you'll know what a frightening experience this can be as you have no control of the car.

“I’d encourage everyone to take the 20p tyre test which is such a simple way of checking if your tyres are illegal or not. Just think of the people you share your car with and other road users. Safe tyres with legal tread depth reduces the risks to you, your passengers and all road users.”

Free tyre health check events

Drivers are being offered safety advice and a FREE tyre health check to ensure their tyres have safe thread depth and that they are properly inflated during the month of October. Oxfordshire County Council’s road safety education team and firefighters will be out and about around the county, offering free tyre health checks, with support from local Tyre Safe partners.

“Your tyres are the only thing connecting your car to the road and good grip is essential especially during the winter weather. If tyres are not roadworthy then they could make your vehicle slide and skid on wet roads, which can be a frightening and potentially dangerous experience. I would encourage all drivers to ACT on the following tyre check once a month: A is for air pressure; C is for condition and T is for tread. Checking these three things when doing tyre safety checks will keep you safe as well as anyone in your vehicle.”

Unable to attend any of the events?

It’s important to check tyres regularly because the tread grooves on your tyres influence the way your car accelerates, breaks and corners. Without sufficient tread depth and correct pressure, your tyres may not be able to grip the road properly and you face an increased risk of aquaplaning. TyreSafe members nationally are offering a free tyre health checks throughout the whole month, to find your local retailer visit http://www.tyresafe.org/